Through a Temple
by DesertChocolate
Summary: The Normandy and its crew are forced into the Trekverse by the Reapers. The Defiant is there to meet them. Now, two sets of very similar groups are forced together, fighting for whats right. In between just hanging out of course.
1. Chapter 1

If the past four years had taught Captain Benjamin Sisko anything, it was to be flexible.

A large man with dark skin, a shaved head, and eyes that usually carried a hint of humor, he usually came across as a powerful figure, a man of drive and strength, with a fire in his eyes. A fire that was just a bit faded now as he went back over the events of the last few hours.

From the moment he had taken command of Deep Space Nine, a lot of weird things had taken place. Wormholes aliens beyond time, baby universes, Q, Morn turning down Jadzia for a date. It was like a long line of weirdness built to keep him constantly on his toes.

Some days, that thought amused him. This was not one of those days.

He found himself sitting in the captain's chair of the USS Defiant, watching silently through the viewscreen as they flew at warp through the peace of space. The other crewmembers around moved with a certain slowness, the kind that came when you found yourself grieving. Today, many people had died for thanks to a man who loved a woman. Major Kira Nerys took it especially hard, clearly grieving as Julian Bashir, his medical officer, looked her over.

No matter how many people died under his command, it never got easier for him. There were days…

Regardless. Time to go back home, get a good night's rest, and get ready for the next disaste-

"Sir!" Miles O'Brien turned around, the Irish engineer giving Sisko a look that meant nothing but bad news. "I'm tracking three Jem'Hadar warships heading towards us."

Sisko forced back the small sigh he felt like letting out, focusing himself back on the moment. "Commander Worf, ready weapons."

The Klingon officer nodded, his heavy brow furrowed as his hands fly across his consoles. The other officers' work with blistering speed as Sisko shared a looks with Jadzia Dax, his best friend. The young woman gave him an understanding look that he returned with a barely noticeable shrug.

"Been that kind of day." O'Brien sighs.

"Bring to red alert and prepare to engage." Sisko said calmly, his voice echoing along with the loud alarm ringing through the ship. For a moment, as the enemies appear on-screen, Sisko noted that this will be one of those bad days he'll remember for the rest of his life.

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There are some good days that you'll remember for the rest of your life, Commander Shepard thought to himself as he rose up from the railing he'd been leaning on. He and his friends, past and present members of the crew he'd created over the past few years had just left his apartment after a party he'd set up.

They'd needed it. With the constant battles, politics, and general Cerberus bitchiness (As Jack charmingly put it) they deserved a break or two. The fact that it had followed a clone of himself attacking them in some insane plot to take his place had just been one in a long line of insane plots.

Which said something about the sad path his life was taking.

Commander Mikeal Shepard brushed a hand through his short black hair, than scratched his stubble of a beard with a yawn. While he chose to avoid drinking, since he had more than enough mind altering things thrown at him as it was, it had still been a long fun night.

His blue eyes suddenly focused on quite a beautiful sight as he followed his friends towards the Normandy. The owner of the sight swung her hips widely as she walked, a proud strut perfectly showing off what had to be one of his favorite views. Shepard grinned, sidling up to join the group as he gives her a look that she returns with a shameless grin, barely noticeble if you weren't looking for it.

"What do you all say to one last ride? For old time's sake." He suggested. As he said it, the idea felt good. One more trip with his family and friends before the end. He hadn't planned on it, but what the heck?

"And I guess I'll be providing this ride?" Joker, the snarky pilot of the Normandy grinned as he walked into the ship. "Sure Commander. Let's put my baby through her paces. For fun this time."

"Do you mean the Normandy, or EDI?" James Vega said with a wide grin as his large size follows after.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Samantha Traynor asked, her eyes turning to look at EDI, the robotic beauty giving her a light smile.

"It has been argued."

"What the fuck ever Sexbot," Jack said, though the last was said somewhat fondly. She grinned at Shepard. "Let rock and roll."

"Not me." Shepard and Miranda Lawson turn as Jacob Taylor hung back. The new father-to-be smiled a bit sheepishly. "Sorry Shepard. Its just that-"

"The birthing class." The two men turn to look at Miranda, who smiled that perfect smile. "First one is today isn't it? You shouldn't miss it."

"You're tracking me." Jacob smiled with a deep sigh. "Same old Miranda."

"I think she calls it, what was it Miranda?" Shepard said with a wide grin.

"Protecting my assets." She replied with a grin of her own, resting a hand on one cocked hip.

"Right." Jacob chuckled, then turnd to Shepard. "I'm sorry Shepard. Another time maybe?"

"Of course." Shepard shook his hand with a soft smile. "Just remember what I said about naming the baby after me."

"Never." Jacob shook his hand back, Laughing as he turned to walk away. Miranda shared a look with Shepard as her first truly loyal friend walks away before entering the Normandy alongside Javik, the Prothean stoic as ever as he walks in.

The last five to get on wait for Shepard. He walked up to them, smiling just a bit. "One last thing before we go."

Ashley Williams, Garrus Vakarian, Tali Zorah Vas' Normandy, Liara T'soni, and Wrex. The original away team for the first Normandy smile at him, each holding a glass bottle in their hands.. Garrus hands Shepard a bottle of (non-alchoholic) beer, giving Tali a dextro-based one. The six warriors clink their glasses together.

"To Kaidan. May he stay safe." Ashley said.

"Have a good beer." Wrex added.

"And forever be in our hearts." Liara continued.

"This one's for you Kaidan." Garrus lifted his glass up high.

"We miss you." The last to speak, Tali, smiled under her mask.

The six took one last drink before Shepard sighed. "Come on. Lets see what kind of trouble we can get into."

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Of course, Shepard eventually found himself regretting those words. Things had actually been going pretty well before that. With the current lull in the Reaper War, they were free to simply coast past the beautiful nebulas and systems to be found in the depths of known space. The crew found themselves gravitating to their old hidey-holes.

It got a bit awkward for Ashley, Liara and Javik, who occupied Samara, Miranda and Grunt's old rooms. The Asari broker and Human sentinel managed to get along very quickly when it was discovered they shared interests in the arts of knowing way too much about people. Last Shepard had seen them they were chatting over the liasons of certain political powers like teenagers taking about the latest fad.

Ashley had meanwhile chosen to allow Samara to have reign of the Observation Deck. Samara, graciously accepted, and Ashley eventually brought up the topic of poetry. Things went along smoothly, if a bit over-politely, from there.

Grunt meanwhile, had introduced Javik to the joys of dinosaurs, which the old Prothean immediately proclaimed as formidable creatures. Shepard decided to drop in on later, if only to speak of the awesomeness of Deinonychus.

Still, the only thing he was looking forward at the moment was a bit lower in engineering. Shepard entered the lower levels, his eyes trying to adjust to the darkness as he walked in. Suddenly his shirt was grabbed by a quick arm.

With the lightning quick reflexes born from training and fighting against constantly powerful opponents, he grabbed his assailant by the wrist, spinning them into a crate. A grunt escapes a pair of lips as he finally sighted the face of his attacker.

Shepard grinned. Jack's eyes seemed to glow as his hands moved from her wrists to hold her waist. She laughed as they came closer to each other. "That hurt you fucker." The slim woman lifted a hand up to his back, splaying her fingers over his shoulder. The same shoulder she'd placed a tattoo on. Her own little mark of ownership, a fact Shepard kind of liked. Her head was shaved on the sides, allowing a single long tail of hair to trail down the back of her neck. Shepard traced a finger along one of the dozens of tattoos on her body.

"You going to punish me for it?" Shepard growled, his voice thrumming in his chest and vibrating against her skin before he kisses her neck.

"I'm thinking about it." She said throatily.

Their lips meet. Jack released a sigh against him as they pull close. For a moment Shepard thought about his room. About how close it was, and how Jack felt as she pressed and grinded against him, and how long it had been since the two of them had been together.

"Shepard?" And EDI's voice came in through the intercom.

The two lovers groaned simultaneously. They look each other in the eyes, sharing a laugh at the timing of it all. Jack grabs his head, kissing him furiously for a moment before pulling away. She grined at the dazed look in his eyes, enjoying the effect she has on him. "Rain check soldier boy."

She slipped away from him, going upstairs with that swing in her step she knows he loves to watch. Shepard sighed sadly.

"What is it EDI?"

The AI replied simply, her tone professional as always. "We've received a distress call. A ship carrying special forces is being targeted by the reapers."

"Special forces?" Shepard asked. His mood took a one-eighty, his steps quick as he goes upstairs after Jack.

"The N7 Specials Ops groups." Shepard immediately noted the slight worry in her voice, something only someone close to her would have noticed. He had the same worries in him.

And with good reason. The group had proven incredibly effective, taking apart the Reapers and their operation with impressive ability. Made up of many races, and containing everything from Justicars and Alliance soldiers to Mercs, Batarians, and Ex-Cerberus members, it was a true melting pot of talents.

Which meant they should have never been on one ship in the first place. Fifty-nine men and woman, specializing in small group tactics, all put on one ship, despite the many hot zones across the galaxy that needed them?

If they died, all at once, it would be a huge blow to the war effort.

"Tell Joker to rendezvous, and put everyone on combat alert."

"Yes Shepard. Logging you out."

Shepard had enough time to take a deep breath when a voice sounded from behind him. "Trouble huh?" A woman came into view at the top of the stairs. Literally, as she seemed to appear from thin air. Shepard gave her a small smile as he joined her.

"Enjoy the view Kasumi?"

The petite Japanese thief gave a perfectly shocked look, only the mirth in her eyes giving her away as she responds in a southern accent. "Moi? Why I do declare Mr. Shepard, are you implying I would be anything but ladylike?"

"You have hours of footage containing nothing but Jacob working out." He noted as the pair slipped into the elevator. Kasumi's smile was positively radiant.

"I maintain that those are good for morale."

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"What have we got?" Shepard asked as soon as he entered the bridge Stephanie Traynor following after him. Joker and EDI sat in their usual places, monitoring the ship as Garrus stands just behind him. Garrus turned and smiled at Shepard.

"Same as usual. A whole lot of trouble and only us to stop it."

"Well that could be anything honestly." Shepard replied with a wide grin at his best and most loyal friend.

"More specifically Commander, we got a message from someone named Bray about an attack on the ship we're flying towards, the Charon." Traynor said in her accented voice.

"Bray?" Shepard shared a look with Garrus. After years of gaining random missions from random people based around the most strange things one could think of, the Normandy crew had attained great skill in remembering every detail needed for as long as it might be necessary. "Aria's."

"That doesn't bode well." Garrus said a bit uneasily. True, the Pirate Queen wouldn't send a man like Bray without cause. He'd proven to be extremely competent in the war against the Reapers, both as a pure fighter, and a logistics expert.

"How long Joker?" Shepard asked.

"Not too long, barely a minute. Maybe when we get there it'll be a big party as opposed to random death and mayhem." Joker jokes.*

"Is that an option?" Traynor asked with a grin.

"Sure. Then we'll make the thresher maw gun Joker's always wanted and end the Reaper War in moments." Garrus replied.

"And Harbinger will sing Kumbaya with Shepard." The group stare, stunned, at EDI, who smiled pleasantly at them. "How was that? I have been working on integrating cultural curiosities into my jokes."

"Pretty good babe." Joker said proudly. The smile she gives him makes Shepard feel like a proud parent. It faded when the couple suddenly focus on their screens. "Bogeys approaching!"

"Evasive maneuvers!" Shepard barked out. The ship careens out of the way as two round objects fly towards them, firing red beams at them. The ships shields held, and Garrus growled at the sight of the objects. "Oculi."

Giant silver balls with a wide red lens in the center, the Oculi had worked as the Reapers counter to fighters. Fast, maneuverable, and a lot more powerful than they should have been, if a bit fragile.

"Take them out Joker." Shepard ordered.

"EDI?" Joker asked, fingers tense over the controls.

"Targeting solution active. You're clear."

"Lets do this!"

For a moment the space between the combatants is lit up with red beams, bullets, and torpedoes. The Oculi manage to do some damage, but are soon torn apart thanks to Joker and EDI's experience dealing with the small fighters. Still, they knew it was too late.

"They had more than enough time to broadcast message. Speed it up Joker, the Reapers know where we are now." Garrus said grimly.

"Already on it." Joker growled. "We're almost there. Look."

Up ahead, a sleek ship can be seen struggling, scorch marks traced all along its surface. Dozens of Oculus eyes dive and twist around it, firing at it over and over. The ship shoots back with it side and forward guns, but its clearly being overwhelmed.

"Help them out Joker. Garrus, get Tali and James, I want you to make sure we get everything we can out of those guns. EDI, Traynor, I want a line to Bray or whoever's in command of that ship. We need to coordinate evacuations." Shepard watched grimly as everyone sets about to their tasks. "Lets get this done."

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It hadn't taken long. With Garrus and Joker working together, their weapons took apart the Eyes. A bit of the Thanix Cannon firing as well made the actual fighting a breeze, and the ships next-gen defenses kept it from being hurt too bad. A bit of omni-gel and they were good to go.

The other ship hadn't fared as well, with the crew having to sacrifice enormous sections of the ship just to stay alive. It was a miracle it had gotten as far as it had actually. It came as no surprise that Bray had been extremely pleased to see them, and evacuations got under way as soon as the battle was over.

In a few flights, the cargo bay of the Normandy was feeling pretty crowded. Shepard left the elevator to find himself in a sea of faces from nearly every race in the galaxy. He had to hold back his surprise at the sight of EID, relising that it was the new Alliance Infiltration Unit. The Unit seemed to be talking to a Vorcha, responding in ways extremely similar to EDI. That could get awkward fast.

Liara, Jack, and Garrus followed after Shepard. The last two came for moral support, while Liara, though still supporting, had someone to meet.

Bray, to his great credit, came on the last ship, along with, surprisingly, a Talon Merc and an N7 Slayer. Shepard nodded to his fellow N7 vanguard, who nodded back before pressing two fingers to his helmet, just where his mouth would be. The N7 signal for a smile. He and the Merc walked to join the others as Bray came up to Shepard.

"Thanks for saving our asses Shepard." Bray said as he shook hands.

"I couldn't let the first Batarian whoever liked me die, could I?" Shepard joked easily.

"Ha! I'm sure you could find someone else to save." Bray looked at Jack and Garrus respectfully. "Your crew is pretty good."

"His fiancee actually. And fuck yeah I am." Jack said with a wide smile.

"Actually, you technically aren't crew these days. So he probably meant the handsome devil next to you." Garrus reminding her. Jack punched his shoulder good-naturedly.

"Whoever I have to thank, you guys did good." Bray said, yawning just a bit.

"Shepard, have you seen him?" Liara asked as she walked up. The Shadow Broker seemed anxious as she came towards them.

"Bray, is Barla Von with you?" Shepard asked. Before the Batarian can answer, someone walked towards them.

Short, and round, few would see Volus as anything but pudgy round balls. Not a single person in this room could see the man waddling towards them as that anymore. More like a force to be reckoned with.

"Dr. T'soni. Its good to see you again." Barla Von said.

"And you Barla." Liara said, relief filling her. "What is going on here? Why were you all on one ship, out in the middle of nowhere."

"The Shadow Broker." If Barla noticed the shock on the four Normandy members faces, he doesn't show it. "I was told to gather everyone together for a secret mission. Use my contacts to make sure no one knew we were gone."

"That's not possible!" Liara said, worry coming back to her. Shepard placed a hand on her shoulder as she calmed herself. "You were tricked. The whole thing was a trap."

"Yeah. It seems that way now." Bray said thoughtfully.

A flash insight and horror filled Shepard then. He turned, running towards the elevator. Everyone stared as he rushed past. "Mikeal?" Jack asked in confusion, using his first name for once.

"The Reapers wouldn't send a bunch of Oculus Eyes, they'd bring in two or three Reapers!" Shepard called back. "We're still in trouble!"

He slapped the elevator button, slipping in. In moments he was running to the bridge. Ignoring the surprised yell from Traynor as he blazes by, dodging crew members. "Joker, get us out of here!"

The bearded pilot jumped, spinning around. "Shepard? What the-"

"Just head to the relay no-"

A sudden boom of noise filled the air, carried through the vacuum of space on a wave of biotic energy. A Reaper appeared before them as if it had always been there, horrific in its size and power. There's a moment of fear as the enormous dreadnoughts arms lifted high, exposing its main cannon.

"Oh shi-" Joker was interrupted when a blue beam hit the ship. The Normandy lurched to the side as the beam seemed to grab it, sending Shepard to the floor as EDI and Joker held onto their seats.

"YOU WILL LEAVE THIS PLANE SHEPARD." A voice said, echoing through their minds as well as the ships intercoms. The Normandy seemed to scream as its left pylons were ripped away."AND DESPAIR KNOWING WE WILL REPEAT THE CYCLE."

"FUCK!" Joker yelled, before the ship disappeared, leaving only the pylons ripped from its body as a reminder. Until the reaper fired, vaporizing them.

Seconds later, the Reaper turned, ready to leave as if nothing had ever happened, only to see a new ship before it. "What?"

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Blue. Lots and lots of blue outside the windows as the ships alarms screamed and the spins through a vortex. "What the hell is this!?" Joker yelled, the instruments in front of him going insane.

"Unknown! All systems critical, shields dropping!" EDI cried out.

"Hold on everyone!" Shepard yelled.

KRADAKOOM!

The ship suddenly stoped. The blue vortex they'd been going through turns into blessed stars. Shepard groaned, his back cracking as he got up. He noted how dark it is, only red emergency light illuminating the area. Several crew members sat dazed at their post, shocked and surprised. "Status report!"

EDI blinked, information pouring through her various memory banks. "All systems except life support had to be sacrificed to maintain shields. We are drifting, and the left pylons were left behind. Four ships are in our location."

Shepard blinked at the last. "What are they? More Reapers?"

"Negative. Three unknown, one ship with human markings."

"Alliance maybe?" Joker asked hopefully.

"…I doubt it." EDI said with her best impression of a grimace.

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Sisko stared at the new ship that appeared from a wormhole. Despite the fact the actual wormhole was still miles off. One shaped entirely unlike any ship he'd ever seen, with human letters printed on the side. "One of those days."

0000000000000000000000000000AuthorsNote000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Theres the first chapter. This stories idea was born from a Star Trek vs Mass Effect thread I made, as well as the huge amount of Mass Effect 3 and Deep Space Nine I got into recently. The idea being exploring the similarities and differences between the universes. So, expect to see a lot of tactics and tech exchange, as well as a Normandy combined with Trek Tech, and a group of Klingon and a group of Krogan tearing apart opponents.

As for why I included the Multiplayer characters, I wanted to give Shepard enough of an army to stand up in the Trek universe, and I just really like them. I won't bring focus to every single one, but there will be some chapters focused on them and the Trek Universe in general.

And lastly, please respect that I do not know every weapon, radiation, and macguffin in the Trek universe. So if something happens and you bring up some random machine that would have saved the day, remember that the Macguffin you're mentioning probably showed up in about two episodes, which makes it hard to nail down in a story. That said, some very cool weapons will be making it in.

So, I hope you enjoyed this first taste. Next chapter we'll see the Defiant in flight, and the Normandy crew vs Jem'Hadar. Should be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

"Focus people!" Sisko snapped as the mystery vessel slowly limped through space. "We have Jem'Hadar to deal with."

"But sir, that vessel," O'Brien asked. "If it's not a Federation ship, what is it?"

"Whatever it is, it's in trouble," Jadzia said from her station. "One of the attack ships is heading towards it."

"Can we intercept?" Sisko asked.

His question was answered when the other ships opened fire on the Defiant.

The Defiant shot forward, diving between shots and firing its powerful phaser cannons at the lead attack ship. The pair peeled off, leaving the Defiant open space to fly through. Sisko gritted his teeth as the Defiant dodged and weaved, his voice booming as he called out commands that really boiled down to up, down, left, right. At that moment, every order could make the difference between life and death. Sisko kept his eyes open, tracking every move his opponents made.

"Worf. Fire everything... Now!"

The Klingon commander smirked a bit as he unleashed a barrage of weaponry at empty space. Sisko smiled as one of the attack ships tried to come about for another strafing run, only to be torn to pieces by the onslaught.

"One down Captain," Dax said calmly, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Keep your focus people. There are still _two_ Jem'Hadar ships we have to deal with. We'll have to hope that other ship can hold on until then." A panel off to the side exploded when the second attack ship retaliated, blasting the ship with phased polaron beams. An ensign screamed, dropping to the floor with severe burns on his arms and chest. Sisko kept his cool. "Get that man to sickbay! We have a fight to win!"

The Defiant wheeled around, carving through space, back into the fight.

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"Okay, we really need to get the Normandy some guns like that." Joker said in awe. Shepard had to agree. He'd never seen anything that powerful before.

They were in still trouble though. Shepard got everyone to work as soon as EDI restored communications. Luckily, they couldn't have chosen a better group of people to rescue. All of them were specialists in some way, skilled to an insane level. They fit right in on the Normandy.

First, Shepard sent every person with any kind of useful engineering experience to engineering. The Geth and Quarians were awestruck upon meeting Tali, a respected figure for both peoples. Well, as much awe as someone could display with no visible facial features. Tali proved her worth as an engineer alongside Engineer Adams, Gabby, Kenneth, and the motley crew of races running around the ship repairing things. EDI directed them, pointing out areas where she "felt" the most damage.

Meanwhile, Garrus led the charge on getting the weapon systems online with his own team of Geth, Quarians, Vorcha, and Batarians (surprisingly). Bray proved invaluable, anticipating every order before Garrus could say a word. No wonder Aria valued him.

Everyone else made themselves useful: moving items and debris, assisting with heavy lifting others couldn't handle, and all around trying to be helpful. It was an impressive amount of teamwork - all of that work was taking half the time it should have.

Shepard looked out into space. There was nothing where the port wing and engine pylons used to be. He couldn't see it, but he could well imagine the torn bits of metal in the Normandy's side.

There were other things on Shepard's mind too. "EDI. How close are they?"

"Exact distance is unknown." EDI said. He could hear EDI talking in the background through a speaker. She was guiding an N7 Soldier and a Vorcha through a critical system repair, even while speaking to Shepard. Got to love multitasking. "My external sensors are still damaged, especially the LADAR arrays. However, based on current passive sensor data, the vessel is slowly decelerating as they close in our position."

"They want to board us?" Joker whirled his chair toward Shepard and EDI.

"It would seem so. Shepard?" EDI turned and looked at him. He didn't hesitate.

"Patch me through to the rest of the ship." EDI's eyes whirled briefly before she nodded. "All aboard, be ready. We're about to be boarded by one of those ships outside. When they arrive, I want us to give them a warm welcome. If it's got a gun and it's pointed in a way you don't like, tear it to pieces." Shepard grinned at the chorus of cheers throughout the ship, along with a couple of loud, echoing roars from the various Krogan aboard. He switched his comm to Garrus' channel. "Garrus, can we get weapons back online before these guys come up to us?"

"That's a negative Shepard." The usually good-natured Turian was rather glum. "We're doing our best, but whatever we went through fried a lot of systems. We're going to be fighting up close and personal."

"Gear up then. We've got a surplus of guns anyways - give everyone the best we've got, and get them ready. Close range showstoppers, nothing that can damage the ship any more than it already is. No heavy weapons."

A small snort came from the background, followed by an indistinct voice. Garrus chuckled. "Well according to Grunt, that just makes it all boring. You owe him some good fights later."

"Don't I always provide?" Shepard replied. Garrus laughed before signing off.

Shepard returned his gaze out the window. Two people came up behind him, both in red, both far, far older than he would ever be. Shepard didn't need look back. "What do you two think?"

After a moment, Samara choose to answer. "Whatever has happened, the course is clear. We must defend ourselves as needed. If this means killing a threat we know nothing about, in self defense, then that is what we should do. The Code says nothing less."

Wrex chuckled. "In less flowery terms, if it wants a fight, let's kill it."

Shepard smiled, knowing a similar grin would be on Wrex and Joker's faces. "Yeah."

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The First on the Jem'Hadar ship approaching the Normandy growled. He saw a ship full of fellow Jem'Hadar fall to the Defiant on his virtual display headset.

"Problem, First?" The Vorta in command asked in a pleasant tone.

"We should not be doing this." The First said slowly. "There could be a god on the Defiant." _And if they killed him…_

"We don't need to worry about that." The Vorta nodded to the strange ship they were flying towards. "While the Defiant is busy, you and your men will take that ship. I don't recognize the design, but then I don't know much about the Alpha Quadrant." He chuckled. "Regardless. Board the ship, and take the crew hostage."

"That would be unwise." The First advised. "We know nothing of that ship. We can detect no warp signature. Its design is unknown to us - we don't even know the capabilities of those on board. We should simply tear it apart now."

The Vorta didn't respond at first. When he did, his voice was slow and methodical. "First. I understand you are worried." He turned to look at him, his voice cold as ice. "But never question my orders. Beam onto that ship. Take its crew hostage. Then we will see about the Defiant. The Defiant, and the Founder aboard it, are absolutely priceless. All our lives are meaningless compared to that prize."

"…Yes sir." The First turned around, nodding to a group of men behind him. "Victory-"

"Is life!" They finished for him. The group marched off to the transporter room, leaving their brethren and one supremely arrogant Vorta behind.

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"Cowards." Worf growled. Every time they tried to assist the unknown ship mere kilometers away, the remaining Jem'Hadar attack ship would hound them. Every time they tried to engage the fighter, it would dart away. It was infuriating to the Klingon warrior. "Why are they doing this?" He asked. "Jem'Hadar fear nothing. They never fight like this."

"Except killing a Founder." Sisko turned slightly, looking at Odo as he stepped forward. The changeling security officer smiled sadly. "If they know I'm aboard, they will change their tactics accordingly."

Sisko nodded. It made sense now. With the inclusion of one of their 'gods' in the mix, the Vorta and Jem'Hadar would do anything to keep him safe. And get him in their hands. "They want to force a trade."

"As I said," Worf said. "Cowards."

"Well, that's assuming whoever is on that ship doesn't simply fight them off." O'Brien said hopefully. It was a weak hope. Jem'Hadar assaults were fast, brutal, and damn horrifying. It took one hardened bunch to handle something as powerful as that.

"Let's end this." Sisko growled. "Jadzia. I think I have a way to beat that ship…"

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Shepard checks his shotgun again. An advancement on his old reliable Eviscerator, the yellow colored Wraith unfolded from its compact form. The omni-bayonet program installed within the shotgun activated, releasing with a snap of sound. He checked over the barrel, finger carefully off the trigger and gun pointed down, making sure the enhanced mod he'd applied was attatched perfectly. There was no way Steve Cortez, the Normandy's armory technician, would make a mistake like that, but it was best to stay cautious.

His Paladin pistol and Locust submachine were at his sides, his full Shade armor on and ready to go. EDI was wearing her own armor, with covered strategic parts of her body to make her less vulnerable, as well as a visor that gave her constant updates in the field. Wrex and Samara had gone to the lower levels, Wrex to prepare his fellow Krogan for battle (i.e. build them up into a frenzy) and Samara to guide the other Justicars and Asari through the day.

As a final measure, Shepard had set aside time to speak to Kasumi and several others. With any luck, he'd have one hell of a surprise ready when the time came. Should be interesting.

All done with his checks, Shepard raised a hand up, summoning a bit of biotic power. He nodded to himself as a blue glow appeared, lowering his hand back. "How far?"

"They've… stopped." EDI said in confusion.

"What?" Shepard came up to a window, staring out with a raised eyebrow.

"That's weird." Joker cocked his head as he watched the ship floating in space before them. Well, above them really, a fact that forced them to crane their heads up, but still just sitting there. "That is one ugly ship." Joker noted. "Looks like a bug or something."

Shepard frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. They've shown they're range with their weapons, if they wanted to kill us, they wouldn't need to start so far back. Why would they come this close without boarding-"

A brief whine of energy comes from behind him. Shepard spun around and saw seven people materialize out of thin air. Before he could make a move, they pointed odd looking rifles or carbines at him and the rest of the crew. Everyone was frozen, staring at the intruders.

Like dinosaurs, Shepard thought to himself. Scaly grey skin, spines placed on the chin like a beard, more on the forehead. Fairly large, especially for a species so human like. Still, not the most dangerous looking creatures he'd ever seen. They'd gotten the drop on him though. Teleportation. That was new.

"Are you the commander of this vessel?" The biggest one said. Obviously the leader.

"Yes, I am. And you are?" Shepard said calmly, keeping his hand carefully at his sides. Just out of sight from the Jem'Hadar, EDI lowered herself into her chair, ready to spring into motion. Shepard took his time to talk, waiting for the right moment, keeping his stance calm "Who are you? And why have you invaded my ship?"

"I am the First of my Jem'Hadar soldiers. You and your vessel now belong to the Dominion. Comply, or die."

Man, these guys have no personality at all, do they? Shepard had met Geth with more of it. Shepard felt a flash of pain when he thought of Legion, before he forced it back. "Nothing else to say? I've never heard of the Jem'Hadar or the Dominion. It'd be a shame to begin a relationship on bad terms."

Now this is interesting. They didn't know what to think of that. Two in the back shared a brief look. The one in charge spoke slowly. "You… haven't heard of the Dominion?"

"…No. Should I have?" Shepard asked, feeling very, very out of the loop. He kept his eyes focused, carefully ignoring the spots of discolored air just behind the soldiers…

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The First was very confused now. Nothing about this ship made sense from the moment it appeared. Its sudden appearance, the design, and now, the people aboard. The man before him looked like no human he'd ever seen. His armor was ornate, yet scarred, obviously used in military service. He wore several weapons on his body, and carried himself like a soldier, his body strong and powerful.

Very few Alpha Quadrant races carried themselves that way in the First's experience. One race was the Klingons. Humans could, but only after years of service and battle.

More importantly, despite every human in the galaxy knowing who the Jem'Hadar were and hearing of their ferocity, this one claimed to have no knowledge of them.

All in all, not your typical human soldier.

It didn't matter.

"You will come with us aboard our ship." The First said calmly. Once there, the human could be used to control the crew. Even if they restored their weaponry, they would not strike, out of fear of killing their commanding officer. All the First needed to do was get the captain off the ship...

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Shepard grinned. "Na. I don't feel like it."

Shepard turned away as a small grenade landed on the ground. The soldiers had enough time to stare at the small device in horror, before it popped in a blaze of sound and Jem'Hadar's genetically enhanced eyes turned against them, turning the blinding light into agony searing their brains.

A Geth, Asari, and Turian decloaked, lead by Kasumi, who wore a proud grin on her face. With agile grace, she slammed an omni-blade into the chest of one soldier, his durable skin briefly resisting the superheated diamond blade. She followed up by slicing out through his side, removing any possibility of survival.

A Jem'Hadar cried out in pain as a burst of electricity from an Overload flowed through him, followed by a blade in his spine. Next to him, another cried out as a warp attack shredded his body, followed by a slim pair of biotic strength augmented arms slamming into his throat. The third was torn apart like paper by a barrage of bullets.

As Kasumi's group appeared, Shepard dropped his arms down like a child pretending to be an airplane. In a blaze of light, he rocketed forward, covering the distance between him and the First in an instant. The large alien was flung back by the sheer force of the impact. The Jem'Hadar next to him swung a fist at Shepard's head, taking advantage of his moment of vulnerability, only for the Spectre to duck the blow. Shepard swung his shotgun up and fired point blank into alien's chest.

EDI slammed into the final one, taking him down with her sheer body weight. Shepard's eyes widened when he saw the Jem'Hadar fire a round that ignored EDI's shields and slammed into her chassis. The AI personified retaliated by punching the Jem'Hadar in the face three times, then pressing her gun to its head. She pulled the trigger, her Punisher machine gun firing madly under its chin. When the gun got to the seventh bullet of the burst, the eighth, red hot armor piercing bullet sped out of the lower barrel, shattering the Jem'Hadar skull like glass.

"…That was so hot." Joker said.

EDI turned slightly to smile at him, then looked at Shepard. "Initiating auto-repair."

Shepard wasn't that surprised by what he saw. Her chest was heavily damaged by that single shot – there was a lot of burnt and warped metal, though it wasn't anything she hadn't encountered before. It was already being fixed, but more telling was the enormous dent in her stomach. Apparently the Jem'Hadar she just killed had been even more desperate than they'd thought. And surprisingly strong.

"Go ahead, we'll-"

The whining noise could be heard once again. Shepard, along with his secret reinforcements, turned, weapons raised, to see the First disappear in a column of shimmering light.

"All hands, we've been attacked! The enemy appeared on the bridge, with no warning – they can teleport! They've also got weapons that ignore kinetic barriers and do a number on armor! I want everyone on high alert and-" Shepard and EDI drew their pistols and unloaded into one of the wounded Jem'Hadar on the deck, who was trying to raise his rifle. "They're tough as hell. Stay calm, watch each others' backs, and stay alive. Shepard out."

Shepard turned to his trio of secret reinforcements. One of his precautions was stationing fire teams with tactical cloaks at key locations. The bridge had been an obvious choice, and it paid off big time. "Thanks for your help."

"Of course commander." The Asari Huntress said with a smile. The Turian Ghost didn't speak, but surprised Shepard when he raised two fingers to his helmet, just where his mouth would be. He obviously picked up the N7 way of smiling.

"What about me?" Kasumi asked in a mock hurt tone.

Shepard shrugged. "I couldn't come up with anything that didn't turn into a lame flash pun."

"Hmm..." Kasumi put a hand to her chin. "I've seen how bad you are at dancing. I wonder how bad that pun really would be."

"Agnate-Synthetic. Do you require assistance?" The Geth asked in a somewhat echoing voice. EDI looked at the Geth, cocking her head in confusion as Joker coughed on nothing in the background.

"I apologize. I do not recognize the designation." EDI said to the Geth. "Although I do recognize some of the meaning in it."

"Maybe that's their way of saying 'Auntie,' " Kasumi said with a smile before cloaking.

"Focus people. They're going to come back." Shepard reminded them gently.

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"What. Happened?" The Vorta said as the First entered the bridge.

"We miscalculated." The First said calmly. Even as he spoke, he was clearly favoring his right side. Nearly every rib on his left side had been fractured or outright broken by Shepard slamming into him, and his left ankle was sprained during his landing afterwards. Only his training and natural gifts saved him.

"Miscalculated? How so?"

"When my team appeared, the ship was of a design unknown to me. The bridge spanned an entire deck, and they appeared to use holographic technology to create control panels. Some of their soldiers had personal cloaks like our own, good enough to hide them from our senses. They used electricity and some unknown power against my men. And the Captain…" He hesitated.

"Yes?" The Vorta asked, intrigued. If anyone but a Jem'Hadar was telling the story, it would sound strange. But the militaristic species weren't known for their imagination, unlike the poetry and opera loving Klingons.

"He managed to turn into a bolt of light and slam into my chest. I have never been hit so hard."

Everyone's eyes widened. It was quite an admission from someone from one of the more durable races in existence.

"I suggest we use every soldier we can spare. No taking hostages until their forces are depleted. They will be ready now, confident. We must strike before they can mobilize their full forces and fortify their positions." The First stood like a statue before the Vorta.

"So… do it." The Vorta spoke as though to a child. "I already told you. Only the Founder matters. If we have to sacrifice everything for the sake of a single Founder, then it is still a cheap price. Take. That. Ship."

The First suppressed a sigh. He hated when Vorta punctuated things for emphasis. "Understood."

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The Jem'Hadar didn't even try to talk when they returned. Luckily, their teleporter didn't let them know where the Normandy's crew or defenses were. That meant that even though the invaders appeared in unexpected locations, the defenders weren't surrounded... and they already had the defense measures were already active.

The Collectors, brainwashed cyborg Prothean thralls of the Reapers, had once invaded the Normandy and kidnapped the crew. When the ship was seized by the System Alliances, Alliance military scientists worked to make it more defensible. To that end, they installed hardened deck plates that could block bullets, biotics, tech powers, and everything in between. When lifted by hydraulics, the plates created extra cover for defenders.

It wasn't enough to deal with Jem'Hadar rifles. After an initial salvo of ineffective energy blasts, the invaders increased the power settings for their weapons and began shooting through the plates. That left the defenders dealing with things on dangerous terms. The Jem'Hadar were damn competent hand to hand opponents, using strength and power to gain the upper hand.

So, Shepard used biotics. Other crewmembers used them too. Tech specialists sent fire, ice, and electricity through the air. Krogan stepped into the fray, a clash of two dinosaur-like opponents, like something out of a Japanese kaiju movie.

The first casualty was a Normandy crewmember: Jonathan, a man with a love for old comic books and a greater love for complaining about them. Shepard liked him. Kasumi hated his guts, as she and the blonde man often argued the pros and cons of digital media for books.

They were in the cargo bay when it happened. He took a shot to the chest, piercing through his standard light armor with ease. Someone pulled him back, ready to apply medi-gel, but he was already dead. Javik looked up to meet the eyes of James Vega. The Prothean shook his head, closing Jonathan's eyes with his fingers.

James gritted his teeth in anger. "Come on. Let's make them pay for it."

Javik smiled, just a bit. "Yes. Vengeance for the dead."

The two career soldiers popped up, and Javik showed why the Prothean rifle was so damned effective as James unleashed hell alongside him. Everyone else kept a tight grip on the medi-gel, ready for the next energy blast.

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In Engineering, a small team of Jem'Hadar materialized, assuming there wouldn't be any powerful combatants in that section of the ship.

Unfortunately for them, Tali and Engineer Adams weren't very picky about who could help them. They just had to be intelligent and willing to do the job.

And so, as a tiny Quarian woman stabbed a Jem'Hadar in the head with a blade pulled from her boot, a Vorcha engineer laughed like a maniac and sliced another head in half between his omni-blades. His freakishly adaptable physiology was already adapting to and fighting off the anticoagulants in the Jem'Hadar weapon discharges.

"Could you quit it with the laughter!?" Gabby yelled , a pistol in hand. She was with Kenneth, Adams, and a group of N7 Ops, shooting back at the Jem'Hadar.

The Vorcha took a deep breath, only to watch a wave of biotic energy zoom by. The Jem'Hadar were slammed back into a wall. It didn't kill them, they were too tough for that, but it pinned them down to be shot.

"I kinda like it," Jack grinned. "You have to enjoy your work."

"You realize you're a teacher now right?" Tali teased.

"Call this P.E." Jack and Tali shared a look full of black humor. Jack returned to battle by pulling a Jem'Hadar from cover, giving a Justicar a chance to shoot him in the abdomen. Out of curiosity, Tali used her sabotage program on a Jem'Hadar's rifle. She smirked under her helmet as the Jem'Hadar struggled. She was astonished when, instead of merely exploding, the rifle overloaded and vaporized the soldier holding it.

Every tech specialist in the area looked at Tali. Then at the Jem'Hadar weapons. Jack looked crestfallen, watching the tech experts prepare their omni-tools.

"Why can't I do that?"

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"How we doing guys!?" Garrus yelled over the din of automatic weapons fire. And, apparently, lasers.

"Having fun!" Grunt yelled back, laughing that weird croaking laugh of his. Grunt and two Jem'Hadar were fighting hand to hand. Grunt had taken one of their weapons, a large triangular blade that seemed perfect for the young warrior. Now he was crossing blades with the Jem'Hadar with all the strength and speed gifted to him by superior genetics. "I! AM! KROGAN!"

For some reason, some of the Jem'Hadar were annoyed by the punctuated emphasis. Grunt replied to this by slamming his pilfered blade into one opponent's brain. Another shot him in the chest. He grunted as the beam slammed into his armor. It didn't pierce through the heavy plating, but anyone other than a Krogan would have been cooked alive by the melted metal.

When Grunt turned to engage his attacker, the Jem'Hadar was already in the air, lifted by biotics. With a wave of a hand, the biotic field exploded, tearing apart flesh and bone, allowing the group to move forward.

"Careful Grunt," Miranda said.

Liara stood beside the ex-Cerberus sentinel, her pistol out with warp ammo activated, firing in the Normandy crew's disciplined style.

"Make sure to give him some medi-gel," Liara told Miranda. "There's some kind of anticoagulant in their shots. It doesn't kill instantly, but..."

"Right." Miranda waved Grunt over. Like a child before a favored aunt, Grunt grumbled, but came over for treatment all the same. The Krogan who took his place chuckled, looking over at Samara.

"Shall we?" Wrex asked his contemporary, filled with the joy of fighting a powerful opponent.

"Always." Samara began to glow as her powers swirled around her. Wrex, Liara, and Miranda got into the flow with her. Soon, other biotics around them joined in, creating a biotic stormthat threw tables, chairs, and bodies around the room like driftwood. Garrus smirked as took his shots, hitting the sweet spot every time, as other shooters alongside him took advantage of the storm. The Jem'Hadar wised up quickly, backing away to throw strange explosives and suppress them with long range fire, but their numbers were badly depleted.

A series of booms preceded the appearance of people zooming forward in biotic charges: a human, Asari, Krogan, Batarian, and a Turian female. Their entry created a chain reaction of explosions as their powers shattered the biotic fields. The humans further complicated things when they leaped in the air and slammed down fist first, sending waves of biotic power out around them.

"Can we keep these guys?" Garrus asked. Liara and Miranda grinned widely.

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On the Combat Information Center (CIC) deck, Shepard fought alongside EDI and other crew members. He had more precise shooters here to keep stray shots from destroying crucial equipment.

Unfortunately, Shepard noted, as a stray shot melted a panel next to him, the Jem'Hadar didn't care about damaging the ship. Casualty reports were already pouring into his comm. Nothing huge in logistical terms. But on a personal level, each death was horrifying. Liara and Chakwas had discovered the anticoagulant properties of the Jem'Hadar weapons too late for Private Sarah Campbell, a young woman assigned to protecting the war room. Her friend, Bethany Westmoreland, had taken her position alongside Barla Von. Last he'd seen, the Volus information broker was shooting alongside her, keeping her calm with small bits of information as they defended the war room.

As for Shepard, he greatly enjoyed the fact that Kasumi was on his side. Apparently, Jem'Hadar had a habit of 'cloaking' in battle, but they couldn't fight without removing the cloak. This made Kasumi, and everyone with a tactical cloak, far more valuable, as they could at least get a shot off before the cloak disappeared.

EDI popped out of cover and released a decoy. One of the Jem'Hadar shot at the false image, disintegrating it, only to have a synthetic that looked a lot like EDI freeze him solid. A Turian sniper shattered the Jem'Hadar into ice cubes. EDI and her look alike shared a glance that would have been awkward between organics before getting back to the fight.

Shepard found himself crouching next to an Awakened Collector, glowing green with arcane biotic powers.

"Can you send another sphere out there?" Shepard asked. The green glowing creature nodded, rising to send out an enormous dark energy sphere towards their enemies. The Jem'Hadar ducked aside; several had been injured by one earlier in the battle.

"Somebody blow it!" Shepard called out.

A warp from a nearby Asari shattered the orb, detonating it. Zaeed Massani followed it up with a loud bark of laughter as he threw his personal inferno grenade, his trustworthy old rifle Jessie in his hands.

"Take that you bastards!" Zaeed neatly blew off a Jem'Hadar's head. "Bloody good fight though." The old merc said to a fellow bounty hunter, who smiled back at him while firing an omni-crossbow bolt.

As the explosions shattered the Jem'Hadar ranks, Shepard biotic charged forward and slammed into an unfortunate soldier. A Turian Havoc soldier used his own jet pack to rocket him into a Jem'Hadar next to Shepard, before both invaders were finished off with shotgun blasts.

A Jem'Hadar dropped its cloak and aimed right at Shepard. Before he could fire, an omni-shield slammed into him. A blast of extreme cold turned the alien into ice. When the shield struck again, the Jem'Hadar shattered.

Shepard looked around for a moment, breathing heavily. All the Jem'Hadar were dead. He nodded to the N7 Paladin and patted the Turian next to him on the shoulder before looking at EDI. Anticipating his question, she shook her head. "No enemy combatants remain on the Normandy."

Shepard nodded. "How many did we lose?"

"35."

A lot. He'd only lost so many, so quickly, a few times. It was even rarer after he took command of the first Normandy and started focusing on small unit tactics..

"All Normandy crew?"

"Yes Shepard."

"Send the names to my cabin." There would be time to grieve later. He turned and walked to the bridge, followed a moment later by EDI and kleptomaniac master theif was unusually somber as she looked up at Shepard.

"You okay Shep?" He gave a pained smile that she returned. She grabbed and squeezed his shoulder just a bit. Joker and Traynor were looking out the windows, having holed up on the bridge when the Jem'Hadar appeared. "So, what's up?" Kasumi asked with a bright smile she clearly didn't feel.

"Nothing." Samantha said with a sigh. "We've tried communicating with every ship out there, but they're either ignoring us or using some form of communication I don't understand. It's-"

"Annoying as hell." Joker finished.

"Not how I would put it," The English woman said with a grimace. "But yes."

_"__Shepard, you okay?"_ Shepard raised a hand up to his ear, turning away to speak. He had given Jack a private, direct channel back before the Alliance took him into custody. It used to be Kaidan's. In a rare moment of warmth, Jack said that made the channel better than a wedding ring.

"I'm here. You all right?"

She scoffed, bringing a smile to Shepard's face. _"__Please. These guys are tough, and their guns are nice, but no variety to 'em. The whole fight was just fun as hell, but really short."_

Shepard thought of those who had died in the fight, and felt a small wave of sadness. Without their biotic and tech abilities, or if the Jem'Hadar had their own equivalents, the battle would've been a lot messier. And with those guns of theirs, it definitely would've gone the other way.

"We just have to hope whoever is out there has a plan to deal with those two ships outside." Shepard said loud enough for all to hear.

Everything depended on being saved by the ship outside.

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Sisko held a datapad in his hand, detailing the math they had worked out in order to prepare for the next maneuver. Bashir stood next to him. The doctor was confident on the math, if not the plan itself. His enhanced mind had worked overtime to figuring everything out.

"And you say this is the exact maneuver?" Bashir asked Worf.

"Yes." Worf said decisively. "After the Enterprise was forced to counter it, we went over the specifics many times. I may not remember the calculations, but the idea is sound."

"If a bit mad," Jadzia noted with a wry smile.

Worf and O'Brien shared a look, shrugging a bit.

"The best captains tend to be a bit mad." O'Brien said by way of explanation. He stuttered a bit when Sisko gave him an arched eyebrow. "N-Not to imply anything sir."

"Why would I think that?" Sisko said, his famous dangerous smile on his face. "Prepare to engage."

The Defiant and the attack ship it was dueling came face to face again. The Jem'Hadar vessel flew in like a mad bomber, preparing for another attack run.

"Say the word Dr. Bashir." Sisko told him. The augmented physician looked at Sisko in surprise. Sisko's nod of approval led him to steel his gaze. Bashir stared at the screen, watching carefully as Jem'Hadar came about. Jadzia was at the helm, ready to go, while O'Brien quickly wiped a bead of sweat away.

"Do it, now!" Bashir barked.

Jadzia activated the engines.

The Defiant let loose a burst of faster than light speed, warping across a negligible distance of space. Thanks to the calculations they'd made, there was no warp trail to suggest where they had gone. The Jem'Hadar's sensors concluded, for an instant, that the Defiant was in two places at once. The Jem'Hadar ship shot at the now disappearing image of the Defiant from one millisecond ago, allowing the Defiant to tear the ship apart.

_No time to celebrate,_ Sisko concluded. "Fire on that second ship, now!"

The Defiant's powerful impulse engines blasted forward, phasers and torpedoes lancing through space toward the enemy.  
>On the last attack ship, the Vorta merely stared at his impending doom while his Third sighed sadly. "The First warned you."<p>

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The crew of the Normandy roared as they watched the ship explode, leaving dust and metal fragments in its wake. Shepard grinned as the Defiant came to a stop before them. "Now that was cool. I never thought of doing something like that."

"Aw, don't worry commander, we still like you." Joker said with the sweetest smile he could give. He winced once, twice, as Kasumi and Traynor smacked the back of his head. When he got hit a third time, he stared at EDI. "Et tu, Brutus?"

"Commander," Traynor said, frustration in her voice. "I'm getting some kind of signal from them, but I can't interpret it. It's as if our tech just isn't made to interact on this level. But... I might have a solution."

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Sisko smiled as the strange ship called Normandy began blinking its light on and off in a regular pattern. Morse Code.

"Very good. Maybe we can finally get some answers." The captain pressed his hands together, focusing as he prepared for the next part of this strange day.

0000000000000000000000000000AuthorsNote00000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Well, thats Chapter Two. Action packed, and tons of fun. I hope I got your attention with all that, because the next chapter is all about the art of talking. As for this, I hope I got somebody favorite multiplayer in on the action.

That said, the Jem'Hadar and their masters won't take this mess lying down. They were beaten, but any fan of Star Trek knows that the bad guys have a tendency to up the ante in a scary way.

Now we'll see just how well the characters do when they actually have to talk things out, and discuss the fun of viral diseases.

And as always, please review and let me know what you thought. Peace.


	3. Chapter 3

Communications were established through painfully slow Morse code. Unfortunately, all it did was establish that the situation was too complex to discuss via that method. Neither party used Morse code for anything but extreme emergencies, so Shepard was shocked that he and Traynor were doing so well with it. He felt that the guy on the other end was answering bit quickly though, but he had no idea that Sisko didn't need any references to decode and encode messages.

But the next step was planned. Before anyone could do anything, the commanding officers would meet. And of course, their crews weren't enthusiastic about the plan.

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On the bridge of the Defiant, the senior officers gathered to discuss the situation.

"Captain, this group decimated an entire crew of Jem'Hadar using nothing but their natural prowess in battle – if they are to be believed," Worf said. A less charitable person would have accused him of sounding protective. "I must ask that you allow me to accompany you and Bashir to the meeting."

Sisko smiled, shaking his head. "They claim to have more than a few species we haven't encountered aboard. Disease might be an issue."

"Which makes things easier to deal with if the only meeting parties are the same species," Bashir noted, his voice taking on that soft, confident cadence it did in his deepest moments. "I can treat either party if they get sick. Better, I have inoculations to vaccinate their captain and I can obtain antibodies from him to develop our own vaccines, assuming they don't have some available. It's not perfect, but until we get back to the station, it's our best option. And it'll be easier for me to inoculate two or three people, as opposed to half a dozen people of various species. As I'm human, it allows me to administer to both of them and myself with ease."

"Still, other humans in the Gamma Quadrant?" Kira noted. She seemed more relaxed than before, but she still avoided meeting Odo's gaze. "With an entire group of aliens from worlds we've never heard of? Isn't that a bit suspicious?"

"That's why I believe it," Sisko said with a wide grin.

"I had a friend on the Enterprise," O'Brien added softly, "who used to say that when you've removed all other possibilities, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must remain true."

"Sherlock Holmes," Jadzia said with a lazy smile.

O'Brien gave her a nod before addressing the group again. "Our sensors haven't detected a lot of things we'd expect from a normal starship and since it's not in any of our databases, no one we know has encountered it before. They also don't seem to have any transporter capability. If I had to guess, the very concept is a surprise to them."

"Do we need to follow the Prime Directive here?" Bashir asked, his brow wrinkling at the thought.

"The Prime Directive? What does it have to do with this?" Kira asked, sharing a confused look with Odo. They turned away after a brief moment of awkwardness, remembering why they needed to avoid each other for a while. Jadzia stepped in, trying to help them out.

"The Prime Directive can be really, really complicated." Jadzia smirked. "The fact that these people have interstellar flight, even if it isn't warp drive, means we have a lot of leeway when it comes to helping them."

"Still, there might be limits to the help we can give them," Bashir observed. "Probably not medically, but if technology is involved..."

"We can set aside the nuances of the Prime Directive for now," Sisko said, taking control of the conversation. "We don't know how advanced this group is. We know there are humans among them, and they share some common history with us, due to the fact they know Morse code. That's enough to make me very interested in meeting the other captain."

"Why can't we communicate with them from the ship directly?" Odo asked, a hand to his chin as he looked over at O'Brien and Jadzia.

"That would be safer than potentially beaming a trap directly onto the ship," Worf replied, his years of security duty on display. He looked at Jadzia and O'Brien as well. The pair shared a look.

O'Brien turned back to Worf, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Well, we may be able to set something up, but it depends on what systems they have available, especially if they have major damage we can't detect. Right now, it's a lot faster to simply have the captains meet."

"We'll still be working on ship to ship communication. But if we want to get out of here fast, simply beaming the other captain aboard before we tow them back through the wormhole is the fastest way to get everything done," Jadzia reminded Worf.

Worf scowled, clearly unsatisfied with the situation. Odo frowned as he nodded, a sign that he shared some of Worf's concerns.

"Very well." Sisko nodded to the group as a whole. "I'll need a phaser for and myself. Establish a level 8 containment field around the transporter when we beam their captain in, for safety." Worf nodded in approval. "You are to standby until I decide negotiations are over. Dismissed."

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"You're an idiot." Shepard grinned at Jack as they walked through the CIC deck.

"You used that one already." He reminded her gently.

"Fuck you idiot," she grumbled.

He laughed. "I thought you were trying to hold back on the swearing?"

"Fuck. Shit. Bitches," Jack growled.

"I love you." He kissed her, greedily feeling her beside him. This was the most time they'd had together since he left the Normandy for his trial. And god, it was amazing to have her with him.

She growled against his mouth, kissing back before biting his lip briefly. "Seriously," she whispered. "You know this is dumb. We can't just have these guys teleport you to their ship by yourself. Let me, or even the Cheerleader go with you, if you need it to be a human."

Even with the bit of warmth that came with Jack's "pet" nickname for Miranda, the fact she even suggested Miranda as backup showed just how worried she was. Jack was smart enough to know a dangerous opponent, and the people on that ship were obviously dangerous.

"I have to," Shepard said, his smile fading. "Right now, we're drifting somewhere in space none of us recognize, and these people have a working ship. We need to get somewhere safe, Jack."

"Fuck..." Jack sighed stepping away. The pair ignored the other crewmembers around them for the moment, who choose to do the same out of respect... and the threat of being smeared on a wall. "So that's it, huh?"

"You too?" The pair turned to see Garrus grinning at them. "I spent a full minute trying to talk him out of it."

"He's an idiot," Jack said fondly.

"He's _our_ idiot though," Tali replied as she walked up to them.

Jack smirked at that. "Well, well. I had no idea you were into sharing Wrench Wench."

A little over a year ago, Tali would have stuttered at the innuendo. Now, she leaned into Garrus. "Well, if the boys don't mind I suppose." She teased.

Shepard felt his face burn as Garrus' jaw dropped. "Okay, we've talked this over to death, time to go, love you!" He snapped off, kissing Jack's cheek before rushing to the bridge, followed by Jack and Tali's laughter.

When he got to the bridge, Joker looked at him in exasperation. "Finally! What took you so long?"

"Everyone and their mother trying to remind me what a bad idea this is," Shepard replied lazily.

"It does seem risky Shepard," EDI said from her seat beside Joker.

"See what I mean?" the first human Spectre grinned. "Have we gotten anything else from them?"

"No, although automated Morse code decoding has allowed me to establish much smoother communications with the other ship." EDI smiled. "This Jadzia person is very polite. I would like to meet her."

"Maybe you will, if this goes well." Shepard gulped. Now for the scary as hell part. "Tell them I'm ready to be, uh, beamed?" Shepard gave Joker a questioning look. The pilot shrugged, leaving Shepard on his own. "Yeah, all right, beamed aboard."

As the Normandy's lights flashed, Shepard desperately tried not to think about the classic Harry Potter novels. _You know, in the originals, when they talk about apparating, and there's the thing they call splinching, where your body parts split up all across the Earth, only this would be in space and-_

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The actual teleportation went smoothly. _Kinda disappointing really, how fast it went._ Shepard found himself standing on a raised platform in a large room. He was on one of the glowing wedge-shaped slices of the glowing disc that dominated the platform. He looked around carefully, keeping his stance non-confrontational.

Carpet. _Huh._ Not too many ships had carpet. And no military vessel he knew of had it. Still, there it was, a soft creamy color with red pinstripes that went well with the walls.

Two men stood behind what had to the controls for whatever device brought Shepard here. Both wore uniforms made of some kind of soft cloth, almost all black except for a thick gray stripe around the shoulder/neck area and colored undershirts. Shepard wondered why they didn't have any armored sections on their uniforms, before figuring it was a standard duty uniform. But it didn't matter what they were wearing; one look at the men's faces told Shepard everything he needed to know.

The man in the red undershirt was black, tall, and well built. His head was shaved, except for a small, well trimmed beard. He looked over Shepard and took his measure, even as Shepard did the same.

The other man had a green undershirt and brown skin that was a bit lighter than Shepard's. He had black, wavy hair, and a metal or plastic case hanging from his shoulder. He gave Shepard a polite smile.

"Welcome to the Defiant," Sisko said with a smile of his own.

"Thanks. Where do I go for the, uh, containment field?" Shepard asked. He wanted to be more polite, but standing around spreading disease was rude in and of itself.

"Right over here please." The other man said, waving Shepard forward. When he was in the right spot, an invisible force field surrounded him. Shepard tapped it, saw it flare up where he touched it, and noted how solid it was._ A lot like our own force fields, then. Interesting._

"Well." Shepard looked at both men. "I guess we should get started."

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Sisko looked over Shepard with a careful eye. He was a tall, muscular man under his strange armor. Very detailed, painted white on the chest and arms, and black or gray on the rest. No helmet, but he could see the clasps for one.

"Very well. I'm Captain Benjamin Sisko of the United Federation of Planets' Starfleet."

"Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy."

"Doctor Julian Bashir, same as him," Bashir said with a wry grin. He pulled a medical tricorder from his case. "While you and the Captain are discussing the situation, I'll be scanning you, possibly taking a blood sample or two. Just pretend I'm not here."

Shepard nodded. A small part of him, one that sounded a lot like Jack, wondered what the doctor's reaction to Shepard's cybernetics would be. _Should be interesting. _Shepard focused on Sisko.

"So captain, where do you think we should start?"

"Well that's a good question." Sisko rubbed his chin for a moment. "Very well. What is the Systems Alliance?"

"The Alliance is an organization set up by the nations of Earth to represent and defend humanity," Shepard replied. "What's this Federation of yours?"

"The Federation is made up of a hundred and fifty planets who have allied themselves for mutual scientific, cultural, and defensive benefits," Sisko opened his mouth to say more, right when Bashir's tricorder began beeping. "What is it, doctor?"

"According to my scans," Bashir peered at the medical tricorder's screen, "Commander Shepard has not only a quantum flux in his RNA, but has also been exposed to chroniton radiation."

"I'm very familiar with the effects of chroniton radiation," Sisko smiled a bit, "but what does the quantum flux signify?"

Bashir looked at Sisko. "It means Commander Shepard, and his entire crew in all likelihood, are from another universe. Commander Worf mentioned its significance in the report on his universe shifting incident a few years ago."

"What does it all mean?" Shepard looked at Bashir and Sisko in confusion. "I'm not only from another universe, but I'm also... what?"

"A time traveler," Sisko replied. "Which complicates matters a bit. But right now, we need to understand how different our universes are. Are you from Earth?"

Shepard blinked. "Yeah. The ghettos of China, actually."

Sisko and Bashir shared a startled glance at that.

"Ghettos?" Sisko asked.

"Well, yeah. I was orphan, so I wasn't exactly living in luxury." Shepard shrugged. After all these years, his time in Hong Kong wasn't the horror story he once thought it was. Not after he'd seen so many people with a lot worse on their plates.

"What year was this?" Sisko asked, his focus absolute.

"Year? I don't know, 2160? It was a while back. I didn't find out my birthday until I was eighteen."

Sisko nods. "I see."

"Is that bad?" Shepard asked.

Sisko thought for a moment. "In our reality, humans only really started exploring beyond our solar system in 2151. When did yours?"

Shepard was waiting to see where this was all going. Usually he was full of questions, not the other way around.

"We found faster-than-light technology in 2148. On Mars actually."

"Found?" The very idea seemed to fascinate Sisko. Bashir was more focused on Shepard's readings, staring at the screen with great interest.

"Yes. We found a cache of technology and blueprints underneath Mars surface, and used it to jumpstart our own technology. That's how we managed to meet the rest of the universe." Shepard reached behind him and grabbed something he'd prepared for the meeting. "This what we call a codex. An encyclopedia of technology and history throughout the galaxy." Shepard blinked. "My galaxy at least."

Sisko looked over at Bashir before stepping over to the control panel.

"Looks like as good a time as any for that blood sample," Bashir said, trying to lighten the mood as he put on a pair of protective gloves.

Sisko tapped a button, dropping the force field. Bashir pressed a hypospray against the bottom of Shepard's jaw, nodding in satisfaction once the sample container was full. He placed the hypo in his medkit's storage compartment before pulling out another device. He took the codex data pad from Shepard, then ran the device over the entire thing. Bashir noticed Shepard's raised eyebrow. "It's a device that sterilizes surfaces."

Once Bashir swept the device over every millimeter of the pad, he handed it to Sisko. Sisko looked through pages of information, raising an eyebrow after a bit. "You have a chapter in here?"

"Oh..." Shepard coughed. "I might have been involved in crazy things in my galaxy."

"Welcome to the club then," Bashir chuckled. "Starfleet often gets involved in crazy things in _our _universe."

Sisko smiled a bit at that, then turned to Shepard. "I'd like to discuss the differences between our universes further, but first, I'd like permission to tow your ship to our home base. We'll have to go through a wormhole to do so – I think it's best if your crew was aware of that ahead of time."

"I understand. By the way... what year is it?" Shepard asked. "In this universe's galaxy."

"2373," Sisko replied.

"Holy shit..." Shepard ran a hand through his hair. "It's 2186 where I'm from."

"It must be quite the shock," Bashir sounded sympathetic to Shepard's plight.

"Yeah... Let me give my crew the heads up before we really get down to business," Shepard replied.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000A tractor beam crept out from the Defiant, latching onto the Normandy. The ships moved closer together, before the Defiant and Normandy stretched and disappeared in a bright flash, moving through the Gamma Quadrant at warp speed.

And both captains began to realize that no matter the universe, some things never change.

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By the time they approached the wormhole, Bashir had long since taken the codex to be duplicated. Sisko and Shepard were in the ready room, trying to learn all they could about each other's universes.

"Borg." Shepard said, trying the word out. "Sounds Swedish."

"These Reapers..." Sisko shrugged. "I suppose it was too much to hope that other universes wouldn't have genocidal machine or cyborg races."

"You guys seemed to handle it better," Shepard noted. "The Borg don't seem to be an all encompassing threat... they're more of a random monster showing up at the worst moments."

"I wish we could be certain of that," Sisko replied. "So far we've been lucky. Every attack has been a single Cube... but we have no idea how large their forces actually are. It's entirely possible they could have numbers comparable to the Reapers... we'd be in the same situation you're in if they come en masse."

"Well," Shepard ran a hand over his chin. "I suppose we should feel good about solving the geth problem. That was all luck and some fast talking. I have two good friends to thank for that. Couldn't have done it without them..." Legion popped back up in his mind, forcing Shepard to change the subject. "You know, I'm surprised you all don't have the same kind of combat abilities we do."

Sisko didn't disagree. While their projectile weapons had a number of advantages over Starfleet's TR-116 design, the combat powers Shepard's people were what really caught his attention. Telekinesis, projectile flame, ice, and electrical blasts, blades that could be summoned on demand, armor with built in sensors, replicator equivalents, and force fields...

These people had a lot of things that would interest Starfleet Security.

"There's a lot of factors responsible for that," SIsko admitted. "You'd be surprised by the amount of things that could interfere with technology in this universe."

"Uh huh," Shepard raised an eyebrow. "What do you think about biotics?"

"Well, Starfleet has encountered beings with all sorts of abilities comparable to biotics, but even among telepathic races, such powers aren't as widespread as biotics," Sisko replied. "Your tech abilities are the real prize. You said your people were able to make Jem'Hadar weapons explode?"

Shepard nodded. "According to my girlfriend and my chief engineer, our tech mines were pretty effective. I bet the power supplies were what made those things so susceptible. Our guns don't use a lot of electricity to do their jobs."

That made Shepard and his crew a very valuable resource. While their biotic abilities would take years to reproduce and required exposing developing fetuses to a substance that wasn't available in this universe, the tech abilities mere required the proper hardware and training. They could easily be given to every soldier facing the Dominion.

"Well Commander, my people will be working every avenue we can to get you back to your universe. Until we do, you and your crew are welcome to stay on Deep Space 9."

Shepard nodded. "What about repairs to the Normandy?"

Sisko winced. "That's a bit more complex. While there are certain similarities between our technologies, there's enough differences to cause problems. And Deep Space 9 isn't a full-fledged starbase. We might have to have some parts delivered to DS9."

Shepard shrugged. "As long as my ship gets fixed, I can deal with it."

"I understand," Sisko leaned forward. "And I think I have a way for you to sidestep some of the legal issues that may come from helping you."

"What, like a trade?"

"Exactly." Sisko's eyes seemed to dance. "War with the Dominion seems inevitable at this point. The Federation has tried to resolve our conflict peacefully, but the Founders have attempted to weaken us from within and without. We need every advantage we can get."

Shepard's moment of thought seemed far longer than it was. The only noise was the comforting hum of the Defiant's engines.

"I can't force my men to fight for you," Shepard finally said. "Not for a universe that isn't theirs. I'll ask. Some might even do it and I can think of a few who'll beg for the chance." If the way the other Krogan stared enviously at Grunt new pilfered sword said anything.

"I understand," Sisko replied.

"Access to our technology... that I can do. Not all of it, of course. But you can tell your bosses that I'm willing to do a quid pro quo trade for tech. I think medi-gel and omni-tools might prove valuable, especially if their augmented with your tech."

"I'm sure that I find someone in Starfleet Security who'll agree to that," Sisko's eyes sparkled as he smiled. "As long as we also get trained to use your technology – of course, we will teach you about ours."

"I can also fight alongside you." Shepard said, rubbing his chin.

Sisko was surprised by that. "You don't need to do that."

"I do. Even with all we're giving you, I know how generous you're being. Giving us even a bit of access to your technology might be dangerous. For all you know, I'm just a very clever liar with a good cover."

Sisko shook his head. "With a story like this, and all the evidence to prove it?"

"Regardless, I feel like I'll be owing you before the end of the month." Shepard replied. "So I'm offering my services to the Federation." Shepard held out his arms. "Consider me, and whatever members of my crew willing to join in, soldiers in this war."

Sisko smiled. They both knew their little wasn't that simple. There was still the matter of what technology could be traded and how much it was worth. Then there were the medical issues the Normandy's crew caused. Still, this was a good first step in the right direction.

"Captain." Jadzia's voice came over the intercom. "We're about to enter the wormhole. I thought our new guest would like a look at it from the bridge."

"An excellent idea." Sisko answered. "Follow me Commander. The opening of the wormhole is quite a sight."

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When Sisko and Shepard stepped on the bridge, all eyes focused on Shepard. He hoped he didn't disappoint.

They certainly didn't. Until now, he hadn't thought he would see an alien species that looked as human as the Asari. And now he saw four.

One was tall, and as big as James, though not as muscular. The ridges on his head reminded Shepard of both Krogan and Batarians, although this man seemed far more noble and less bald than the latter. A Klingon then. He was looking at Shepard with careful eyes, obviously prepared to take him down if need be. Shepard took that as a compliment.

Another one, female, was almost ridiculously human in appearance, beautiful even. Only a small set of wrinkles or ridges on the bridge of her nose indicated her alien nature. Unlike the others, she wore a red pantsuit and looked over Shepard with caution, much like to the Klingon. A Bajoran.

The third person made Shepard truly uncomfortable. His face was just off in an odd way. Big ears that were basically plates of skin, a strange nose, and sunken eyes, and all of his skin was unnaturally smooth. He, like the other two, kept a measured gaze on Shepard, though he seemed less hostile and more suspicious. The Changeling – the only one on their side.

The last alien was the opposite of the others. She seemed positively fascinated with him, grinning widely as he walked in. Like the other woman, she had a very human appearance Only a set of leopard like spots going down each side of her neck gave away the fact that she wasn't human. She was also drop-dead gorgeous. Still, Shepard remembered one thing about the Trill, and one look in her eyes revealed the same ancient confidence that resided in Samara, Wrex, or even Liara.

Bashir smiled at Shepard, already familiar with him, but the human next to him cocked his head. The man was surprisingly pudgy, though his rolled up sleeves revealed his muscular arms. Shepard smiled upon seeing a bit of grease on his fingertips. _Engineers are the same everywhere it seems._

Nobody else was on the bridge.

"Bit empty, isn't it?" Shepard noted wryly, even though the small bridge didn't have a lot of empty seats.

"A precaution." The Changeling said. "We weren't sure how you would react to meeting a large number of aliens you've never seen before."

"Ha!" Shepard shook his head. "Trust me, I've long since gotten used very strange things happening. The fact I'm in another universe is much less familiar territory than a new species or twenty."

The Trill woman laughed. "Well, you seem to be doing all right so far. Jadzia Dax, science officer." She stepped forward and shook hands with him.

"Commander Shepard. And yeah, that's mostly me putting on a front."

That one brought a chuckle from Bashir and the man beside him.

"So, you all said something about a wormhole."

"Oh, right." Shepard blinked at the sound of the man next to Bashir's accent. Irish. _Best not tell Kenneth and Traynor then. _"Should be coming into it soon."

All the officers went to their instruments as Sisko sat on a chair in the center of the room. A very cool chair. _Why didn't I get a cool chair? Oh well. Maybe I can have one on the SR3._ For now, Shepard stood next to Sisko. The Changeling moved to Shepard's right, simply standing there. Shepard felt a rush of approval. If he made a move towards Sisko, the Changeling would be able to intercept.

Of course, Shepard's biotic charge was much faster. He choose to hide that ability from people with lasers and teleportation in case he needed an edge.

"Wormhole opening," the Irish man said.

"In three," Jadzia said. "Two. One."

Shepard felt his eyes widen. A bright blue tunnel erupted in the middle of space, glowing like a jewel among the stars. Unlike the dark whatever that brought the Normandy here.

"I like it." Shepard grinned.

"People tend to." Sisko replied with a smile of his own.

Shepard turned to say something as the Defiant pulled the Normandy into the wormhole.

And suddenly he and Sisko were alone. Standing on nothing at all, surrounded on all sides by a white void. Shepard spun around, eyes wide. He breathed deeply, keeping his cool. Sisko let out an annoyed huff.

"Not again." The Federation officer growled.

"This has happened to you before?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. Usually when it's annoying." Sisko looked at Shepard, puzzled. "Though this is the first time it's happened with another human along for the ride."

Shepard chuckled. "That's me. Commander Shepard, Trailblazer."

"The Sisko." The two turned to see a woman Sisko didn't recognize. She was shorter than both of them and wore a leather jacket that ended below her armpits, cargo pants, and cloth straps that wrapped around her chest, revealing intricate tattoos on her skin. Her hair was shaved on the sides of her head, the top trailing down her neck in a ponytail. The woman pulled her gaze to Shepard.

"And the Shepard."

"I'm not going to like this," Shepard said with a slow nod, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.


	4. Chapter 4

"I have to say, you guys aren't as imaginative about this as the Leviathans were," Shepard noted as he looked around. "Nothing but white space — never mind."

The white void transformed into the strange blue space that the Leviathans once pushed into Shepard's mind. The floor rippled like water when Sisko and Shepard moved their feet, a disorienting effect.

"Fascinating," Sisko said calmly, then focused on the woman before them. "Well, you have us here. What do you want?"

"And why do you look like my girlfriend?" Shepard asked, staring at the fake Jack. The recent clone thing put him on edge when it came to copies of people.

"They appear as people from our lives that we feel a connection to," Sisko answered. Jack disappeared as the area turned into a sepia-toned version of the Defiant's bridge. Sisko growled upon seeing the man sitting in the captain's chair, who looked at them calmly. "No matter how much we don't like them."

The man sitting there had grey skin with ridges around the forehead, along the nose, and down the sides of his neck. He was tall and strong looking; he spoke with the same calm voice Fake Jack did.

"You are the Sisko. You are the Shepard."

"Yes. Why did you bring us here?" Shepard replied.

"To observe." They suddenly stood in Shepard's cabin. Tali and Traynor were before them, handing each other datapads. They turned towards the two men. "We have seen you, Shepard. Through every life you lead."

"Every life?" Shepard asked. "What does that mean?"

Tali spoke, her voice smoother than in real life, without the small buzz her synthesizer gave her. "The Sisko's path is written. His choices are his, and he makes his path with the strength we have seen within him. One path. His decisions."

"The Shepard is different." They stood in Afterlife now, on Omega. No one was there except Garrus and Jadzia. The Trill woman slid a glass to Shepard, while Garrus sat next to him and Sisko. "Strong. But fluid. The Shepard decides in the moment. Tied to no one future."

Garrus spoke next, his voice as monotone as Jadzia's. "The Sisko will go forth unfaltering, and allow no deviations."

"The Shepard will go his own way, subject to his will and no others," Jadzia said.

Suddenly, Sisko disappeared. A woman appeared. He immediately knew she was different. Fuller, somehow. She was black, thin, beautiful, but… full of regret. She looked at him with sad eyes. "Help him."

"…I was already planning on it," Shepard said carefully. "But I need to go home. My world, my galaxy, my entire way of life is in danger. I can't stay if the Federation finds a way to send me back."

"Help him," the woman said. "And we will send you back."

The setting changed again, reuniting Shepard and Sisko in DS9's control center. Odo and EDI stood there.

"Can you do that?" Shepard asked. "Send me and mine to our universe, our time?"

"You are linear. We are not," Odo said by way of answer.

"That means yes." Sisko said, cocking his head.

"Why do you want the Shepard to help?" Shepard cocked an eyebrow, while Sisko grinned. "Sorry. Just Shepard."

"You, the Sisko, will defend Bajor." EDI answered, her voice, like Tali's, free of the usual buzz that accompanied it.

"You, the Shepard, will attack its enemies." They stood in an office with a beautiful view of a city skyline. Shepard's eyes widened when he saw the Golden Gate Bridge far off in the distance. He and Sisko stood before a desk that Admiral Hackett and a man Shepard didn't recognize sat behind. The man was older, with neatly combed back brown hair, wearing a red colored suit with black shoulders and three pips in a rectangular frame on both sides of his collar, possibly marking him as a very high ranking officer. The way Sisko sucked in a breath at upon seeing him clinched it.

"The Sisko will be the shield, protecting the vulnerable," the man said.

"The Shepard will be the spear, destroying what would threaten," Hackett said, reflecting something he'd once said to Shepard.

The man suddenly grinned. As the vision began to fade, the man spoke, his voice suddenly powerful and deep, as if breaking through the monotone voice of the Prophets. "Good luck."

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Sisko and Shepard blinked. The Defiant was just coming out of the wormhole with the Normandy in tow. Jadzia looked at them, having noticed their confusion.

"Oh, come on. Again?" she sighed.

"Afraid so," Sisko replied with a sigh of his own.

"You think they can do it?" Shepard asked Sisko.

"Yes, though I don't know what they think this will accomplish."

"The Prophets?" Kira asked. Kira perked up a bit when Sisko nodded. "What did they want?"

"They wanted me and my crew to help you out," Shepard said.

Kira blinked. "But... why would they ask you directly? Why take both of you into the vision?"

"They didn't answer that little question," Sisko replied wryly.

"Captain, I'd like to formally request to be transported back to my ship when we get to your station." Shepard sighed. "It looks like it's back to war, then."

"You think it will come to open war," Worf said. It wasn't a question.

"I was already discussing the possibility with Captain Sisko," Shepard replied.

"And now the Prophets have involved themselves," Bashir said softly.

"Which means the question of open war isn't a matter of if, but when," Sisko said.

Odo looked away from them all, sorrow on his face. "As if today couldn't get any worse."

Silence dominated the rest of the flight.

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"You talked with spirits?" Garrus asked, stunned.

"Goddess," Liara added in shock.

"Literally, this time," Joker grinned widely.

Shepard gathered everyone in the War Room, specially cleared out for this meeting. They all gathered around the central console, which projected a hologram of the damaged Normandy. Shepard explained everything he could of the events on the Defiant, including what happened just before they reached DS9. Now they were waiting for some of the shipping at the station to clear out a spot at the docking pylons.

"Before anything else..." Shepard turned to EDI, his face a bit dark. "You have the casualty lists?"

EDI was somber as she handed Shepard the list. Shepard looked up at her when he saw the number. "24?"

"Several people survived. Per your orders, they were transported into DS9's infirmary, along with the rest of the wounded. Doctor Chakwas and one of the Geth went along, to oversee the transfer." And guard the wounded. Sisko seemed to be honest with them, but that was no guarantee that the Federation would honor the agreement between the captains. Shepard and his crew might be breaking some rule just by existing, for all they knew.

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In Deep Space 9's infirmary Julian Bashir mentally compared yet another injured Normandy crew member's scans with his memory of Shepard's readings. And yet again, there were some cybernetic implants and genetic alterations.

_Interesting._

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"Damnit." Ashley cursed, biting her lip just a bit. "So many…"

In the room were the people Shepard had come to think of as the main crew, as well as some new arrivals.

Left to right, they were Jack, Garrus, Tali, Ashley, Wrex, Liara, Miranda, Steve, James, Javik, Samara, Grunt, EDI, Joker, Traynor, Kenneth, Gabby, Kasumi, Zaeed, and Adams. Off to the side stood Bray and Barla Von, who watched respectfully.

Shepard sucked in a breath, looking at the others. They all their heads down respectfully. Kasumi was staring at the list in Shepard's hand, eyes focused on Jonathan's name. Shepard scanned the list several times, committing the names to memory as best he could. He wouldn't be able to remember them all. But he owed them the courtesy of doing his best to try.

When he finished, he passed the list to Jack, who looked it over, sighing and shaking her head. Garrus shook his head when the list was passed to him. He'd seen enough lists of the dead in the last few months.

Down it went. Wrex, Zaeed, and Grunt spent barely a moment on the lists. Shepard knew they'd show their respect another way. Some, like Traynor and Gabby, let out a quiet gasp at one of the names. Samara read as Shepard did, though she would no doubt remember the names with far more ease. Kasumi, like Garrus, refused to read.

When the pad got back to Shepard, he pressed a button, replacing the hologram of the Normandy in the center of the room with the list. "Steve, James. I want you two to place these names on the Memorial. Liara, Miranda, find out all you can about their family and friends back home and let me know what you know."

They all nodded, choosing not to speak for now.

"Bray, Barla. Get your people in the cargo bay with ours." Shepard walked over and handed them datapads. "This is some of the information I'm working with. For now, do with it as you wish.

"…Understood," Bray said softly, before he turned and walked out of the room. Barla followed a moment later, his eyes never leaving the pad.

Shepard turned to the rest of the crew. "Here's the score. We're in a galaxy on the brink of galactic war. A lot of people are going to die, and as far as I can tell the only people prepared to stop it need every bit of help they can get."

"So same as usual then," Vega said with a grin. A brief chuckle filled the room.

"No," Shepard said softly. Everyone went silent. "This is not our universe. This Earth is practically an alien world to us. None of you need to fight."

"Are you planning on letting these people die?" Ashley asked in disbelief.

"Not for a moment. But I can't make that decision for you all." Shepard looked them over, his face grim. The people who were more than friends – somehow more than family – to him returned his gaze. His crew, the best of the best. "I'm giving you all a choice. I want to fight for these people. I thought it would be something quick. A mission or two, something to make up for the things we'll be getting in return."

He sighed. "But it's more than that now. These Prophets are offering us a chance to go home, right when left. With the science of a universe more advanced than ours."

"You really think it would make that much of a difference?" Wrex asked, quirking a large eyebrow.

"I don't think." Shepard smiled, briefly. "I know that a ship enhanced with their tech can make the difference in the Reaper War."

"Wait, you're going to make the Normandy even beefier?" Joker asked, ecstatic the idea. The pilot was depressed by the numbers he'd seen for this universe's ships. In their universe, the Normandy was the fastest ship in the galaxy that wasn't a Reaper. Here, it was a midrange speedster, with absolutely none of the endurance of warp drive ships, which could fly at solid speeds for hundreds of times longer. A relay was still faster, but these ships didn't have to discharge static electricity all the time, at least.

"Yes. But it's more than that." Shepard looked down for a moment. "Look. I've seen the figures. I've read the reports on what these Dominion assholes can do. And I can't stay out of this. I can't watch these people die, knowing I could help." Shepard looked up at them. "These guys are on the verge of facing something as bad as anything we have in our universe."

"So for the end of this, I'm going to take a cue from Jack." She grinned as Shepard's face became something savage. "I'm tired of being on the losing end of a fight. I'm going to take the weapons and soldiers of two universes, and I'm going to turn them into the best fucking fighting force in any reality. And when it's over, I'm going to take everything I can back to our universe, and tear apart the Reaper fleet with the best fucking ship in existence."

"Well said!" Wrex chuckled, while Grunt smacked his hands together and laughed along with him.

"So what's the plan then?" James asked, grinning along with what had to be the entire crew.

"Does this mean you're with me?" Shepard asked.

"Come on," Ashley scoffed. "I think I've refused enough invitations around here. Last I checked, my Alliance contract didn't end at the end of the universe."

"Come to think of it," Garrus said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "This means I actually did follow my commanding officer to the ends of the universe. My ancestors would be proud," he said with a cocky smile.

"Trust a Turian to make a fight sound boring," Zaeed grunted. "Well, I don't see anyone else carrying us back. I'm in."

"Another suicide mission," Kasumi said sadly.

"I wonder what you could steal in this universe?" Gabby teased Kasumi. Anyone one who knew the petite thief recognized the new light shining in her eyes.

"Well, I can tell you the answer of all of the Quarians," Tali said happily. "The chance to take back new technology? Irresistible."

"No matter the universe, the code holds clear." Samara nodded to Shepard. "You stand in defense of the innocent, as you always have. I will join you Shepard."

"It does seem logical," EDI said softly. She smiled. "That was a joke. But I agree."

"Well, Shepard, seems like you have yet another group of crazy people ready to fight the good fight with you," Miranda teased.

"He does have a type doesn't he?" Liara said alongside her. "Still, I suppose I could use the practice." She didn't say what she was practicing, but it was clear she'd need to restart her information empire from scratch.

Adams and Kenneth simply nodded, clearly prepared to join. Cortez was the final one to speak.

"You going to repeat that speech to the rest of the crew. And the multipliers?" said he asked, using the universal nickname for the N7 Ops soldiers.

"Nah." Shepard grinned. "I'm going to actually prepare a speech for them." The group laughed together at the joke, pathetic as it was. "Go the cargo bay. I'll meet you there."

They fanned out, some patting Shepard on the back. Soon, only he, Traynor, and Jack were left.

"Commander, I'm going to get started on creating codex entries for this universe, if you don't mind." Traynor said, smiling a bit. "A new universe. I wonder what it's like."

Jack scoffed. "Whatever. Go do your speech soldier boy. I'm going to get a drink."

She kissed Shepard on the cheek, earning a grin from him. "You want to scare some of the people on the station." He guessed with ease.

"Fuck yeah! Let's see how those pansies handle a good bar fight or two." She walked off, leaving Shepard and Traynor to stare after her.

"Uh, Commander… she was joking, right?"

"You're still new Samantha." Shepard sighed. "I'm going to see how many of the multipliers will fight with us."

Traynor scoffed. "For the great commander Shepard? Are you joking?"

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Everyone on the Normandy signed on to fight.

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In the commander's office on Deep Space 9, Captain Sisko slowly looked over the scans Bashir had taken.

"Every single human, at the very least, has some level of genetic enhancement." Bashir couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. "Many of alterations are clearly combat oriented. It's treated as _normal_ in their universe."

"Interesting." Sisko put the padd down on his desk, next to the baseball that rested there. "And you say Shepard-"

"Is a cyborg. Or as much of a one as I've ever seen personally." Bashir shook his head. "It's remarkable. I didn't think someone could survive the amount of cybernetics that Shepard has in him unless they were Borg, but it's almost as if he was created as a cyborg."

"Do the rest of his soldiers show the same levels of modification?" Sisko asked.

"No. Even these so-called biotics are nowhere near being as radically an alteration as Shepard's. Everything about him has been altered, his musculature, his skin, even his bones, all enhanced by cybernetics to be stronger, to recover from trauma faster. It's as if he was built to be a fighter." Bashir shook his head, amazed. "And yet he has none of the issues we've seen in augments designed along the same lines. No psychological issues were present when we spoke to him, and his crew seem to trust him implicitly. Only his body, not his mind, was modified."

"It may be that their universe has a better understanding of how to augment someone without any of the stronger side effects." Sisko noted. "Otherwise we'd have another Khan on our hands."

Bashir winced. "Yes, I suppose he rather ruined the reputation of people like me on this side of the multiverse." Bashir sighed a bit sadly. "So what do we do?"

Sisko smiled. "Nothing."

Bashir stared at him, shocked. "Sir?"

"These people are not from our universe Doctor. For all we know, they have broken no laws, and in fact, I'm inclined to believe this is a normal practice for them." Sisko's smile faded just a bit. "We will inform Command soon. But as of right now, these are people with no home, and no help other than this station. They are, in effect, refugees." Sisko chuckled. "A bit less helpless than most refugees I can name. But refugees nonetheless."

Bashir smiled, a bit of the weight he'd been feeling fading. "Yes sir."

"I would suggest discussing things with their doctor. She is likely to have insights we don't into this whole affair."

"A good idea sir." Bashir took the datapad he'd handed Sisko back.

"Dismissed doctor." Sisko watched Bashir walk out. He frowned just a bit at the slight discoloration or distortion of air that followed him, but dismissed it as a trick of the light.

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Quark was having a very good day. A new ship had arrived at the station. One that, if the rumors were to be believed, had come from another universe.

But who cared about that? A new ship meant something more, something that made Quark's lobes tingle like he'd just spent a long day under a fine-figured female who _really _knew how perform Oomox.

_Customers._ And not just from the ship, though he knew they would show up in his bar eventually. People had been coming in all day to talk about the new ship. They could get a great view of the thing from the many windows of the Promenade, and usually roamed over to the bar to discuss the whole thing over a drink or two.

Business was booming, and life was good.

Quark looked up at his next customer, raising an eyebrow at her unusual appearance. "Welcome to Quark's, what can I get you?"

Jack smiled at the small alien, her eyes carefully avoiding a group of very tough aliens sitting at a table nearby. "How about something strong, and I'll tell you when to stop pouring."

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Later that day, Shepard entered Deep Space 9's wardroom along with Tali, Adams, Liara, Garrus, James, EDI, and Wrex.

Sisko raised an eyebrow. Clearly, Shepard had chosen these people for a good reason. The Normandy commander had made sure to give some short files on his more prominent crew members before the meeting, to allow Sisko to prepare for what was to come.

Tali, Adams, and EDI's roles were obvious. They were clearly here as technical experts, to smooth over the discussion of any technology to be traded. Garrus and Wrex would work as representatives of their people. Vega's choice to stand to Shepard's right indicated that he wanted to be Shepard's bodyguard. Liara might have been acting in the same capacity as Garrus and Wrex, though something told Sisko that wasn't the case.

Sisko had taken a similar route. His entire staff was seated at the other end of the table. Sisko stood, waving to a seat. "Welcome Commander. Please, sit down. I believe we have much to discuss."

"Thank you Captain." Shepard waved his teammates forward, watching them sit down. Worf and Wrex met eyes and immediately began sizing each other up. Shepard took a moment to be glad that these two were the first of their species' to meet. Wrex was too old and too smart to start a fight for the sake of it, and Worf struck him as a man with enough discipline to fight the urge to test his strength.

Sisko seemed to be on the same wavelength. "Well then. I suppose introduction are in order." The man pointed out each person, going right to left around the room. "This is Major Kira Nerys, my first officer." Kira gave a small nod and a smile to the Normandy crew. "Lieutenant Commander Worf, my strategic operations officer."

Bashir, O'Brien, Jadzia, and Odo were introduced, leaving two people Shepard hadn't met yet. "And this is Nog, one of our more gifted technicians."

Nog nodded eagerly, clearly curious about the visitors from another universe. He was a Ferengi and Shepard had already noted a common bond with the Volus – their love of money. Of course, if the Volus currently on board his ship were any indication of what a Ferengi might be capable of in a fight…

"Also joining us is Elim Garak." Sisko choose not to give him a rank or title. Indeed, Sisko seemed almost annoyed with him. Elim Garak was Cardassian, the second Shepard had ever seen (If the vision from the Prophets counted). He smiled at them pleasantly, enough that Shepard almost dismissed him entirely. Until he saw Liara smiling back at the man just as politely, her eyes turning away to meet Shepard's.

"And Mr. Garak is…" Shepard let his words trail off.

"Oh, it's just Garak. Plain, simple Garak." The man said, his smile deepening. For some reason Bashir broke out a wide grin. "A simple tailor here in an advisory role."

"…Riiiiight," Shepard said, his voice deliberately skeptical. Garak only smiled wider at that. "Okay, well I suppose it's my turn."

Shepard went around the room with his introductions. O'Brien noted Tali and Adams with interest, apparently curious to meet his counterparts. When Shepard got to EDI, Jadzia smiled.

"You're EDI?" She asked, seeming very interested.

"Yes. It is short for Enhanced Defense Intelligence," EDI said with a polite nod.

"I had no idea you were an AI," Jadzia said, fascinated. "We should talk sometime. I'd be very interested in getting to know you."

"I would enjoy that." EDI replied.

"Well, good to know we're getting along so well." O'Brien noted with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, one big happy family." Wrex grunted, obviously bored. The big alien was standing behind Shepard, as he'd taken one look at the small chairs around the table and decided not to risk breaking it.

"I suppose we should get started with business then." Sisko said with a careful look at Wrex. "We had best begin with what needs repairing on your ship. It's a good baseline for what most of this trade will entail when we give the proposal to Command."

"Sure." Shepard nodded to EDI, Tali and Adams, sitting down. "Go ahead."

The three engineers nodded, and Tali stood up, sliding a datapad to O'Brien. "As of now, most of our systems are working, though some of the more damaged one will need replacement. Our biggest problem is where we are."

"Mainly that a lot of our tech doesn't exist here," Adams said with a shrug. "Our best bet, as far as we can tell, is to either recreate it, or simply replace it with whatever is the closest equivalent from your universe."

"The biggest problem will be the port wing," O'Brien said. "We might be able to jury rig something for now, but the technological differences means we can't just slap new wings, impulse engines, and nacelles on your ship and call it a day."

"Maybe we can create something?" Tali said, her quick mind racing. "Some way to combine our tech to create a new kind of nacelle?"

"Something new…" O'Brien turned to Jadzia. "Me and you should go with them to their ship. It may help if we have actual data to work with, and you're the best physicist I know."

"Go ahead," Shepard said with a smile as the three engineers and lonescientist looked at him. Despite their professional demeanors, they were obviously chomping at the bit to study . "Bring it back with a new tank of gas before ten."

"No promises." Tali quipped as the little group rose to leave.

"In the mean time, I've talked to my people, and we have a list of tech we feel would be useful to you." Shepard nodded to Wrex, who passed a pad to Worf. "In particular, our Omni-Tools."

Shepard demonstrated by activating his, smiling at the familiar light. "I suppose, in your universe, you could call it a combination of a communicator and tricorder that can be a subdermal implant. It's easy to use, can be configured in a lot of ways, and is undetectable unless you scan someone to the bone. It's also one of the most useful weapons we have, though only someone with engineering ability can use it as a primary weapon. What's really interesting is this." Shepard snapped his arm out, his omni-blade shining brightly in the room. Worf and Kira's eyes seemed to shine as they stared at the red blade.

"It's a solid melee weapon encased in a force field. And there are dozens of configurations for it, based on what you prefer for your style, though most stick with the blade." Shepard put the whole thing away. "This is one of our more common technologies. And with everything you know, I imagine you can put it to much better use."

Garrus grinned. "That's putting it lightly. Some of the stuff I've read seems more like magic than anything else."

"So if this is the future, how did the Simpsons end?" Vega blurted out. When everyone in the room turned to look at him, he shrugged. "Look, I just need to know man."

Sisko sighed, shaking his head. "I'll let you know when it finishes." He ignored the wide-eyed look Vega gave him. "I believe that with the promise of these omni-tools, and more tech on the way, we can convince Starfleet Command that exchanging technology is a good idea. At the very least I'll convince them to use DS9 as a testing ground." Sisko turned to Kira. "What do you believe will be the Bajoran government's take on this?"

Kira blew out a breath of air. "Well, according to you and Shepard, the Prophets themselves asked for his help. That gives this idea some solid support. But even then, certain… elements, might try to go the other way." Kira's face wrinkled for a moment at the thought before she continued. "Still, as long as you treat them as another ally, I don't think you'll have a problem politically. You aren't planning on claiming to be another Emissary or Prophet, do you?" Kira asked Shepard wryly.

"Don't say no immediately. Milk it for all its worth," Garrus joked with a grin.

"Yeah, a bit late Garrus," Shepard told the Turian with a mock shake of his head. "I've long since learned that being in command is hard enough as it is. Uh, no offense." He added to Sisko.

"I don't mind as much these days actually," Sisko replied with a smile.

"Setting up guest quarters for such a large number of people is a problem," Odo noted gravely. "We have plenty of room, but I want to avoid any possible incidents, diplomatic or otherwise."

Sisko nodded along with Shepard. As it was, the Normandy was a bit crowded. Not hugely, but it was a bit tight, especially with so many Krogan around.

"I suggest we wait about a week before we get into that," Sisko suggested. "Until then, we should allow your people to come and engage in activities on the station, to get everyone used to each other."

"What do you think Wrex?" Shepard asked. The hulking alien grinned.

"These guys are the best of my clan and my world," he proclaimed about the Krogan on the Normandy. "They'll stay calm for as long as they need to be, trust me."

"Good to hear." Bashir said with a raised eyebrow. He turned to Shepard. "I was also wondering about this medi-gel of yours. Dr. Chakwas was polite, but she wanted to make sure I had your permission before studying it. From what I've seen, it would be invaluable for field medicine."

"Permission granted." Shepard turned to EDI. "EDI, you said you wanted to talk to Odo."

"Yes." EDI turned to the Changeling, who seemed curious as to what she wanted. "My usual defense algorithms were based around a system very different from yours. As you are Security Chief, I surmised you are experienced in computer security."

"I dabble," Odo said carefully.

"I was hoping to learn about this universe's computer systems defenses." EDI said. "As my primary function is in assisting the Normandy from cyber-attacks, learning about what that consists of in this universe would be prudent.

"Hmm…" Odo looked at EDI carefully. "Well, I'm no expert. I can however give you several names of people who specialize in that sort of thing."

"Thank you. I will do my best not to hack your station and shut off your oxygen supply in return." Shepard groaned and raised a hand to rub his forehead as the rest of the room stared in shock at EDI.

"That, was a joke."

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Meanwhile, a group of Klingons slowly got out of their seats in Quark's. Jack took another swig of her new favorite drink, bloodwine, and grinned at them.

"P-Please, this is just a misunderstanding!" Quark said nervously as he stood just to the side of Jack and the Klingons, holding a tray to his chest. The rest of the bar watched in avid interest, waiting to see what happened next.

"Like fuck it is," Jack laughed, finishing her bloodwine and tossing the bottle to Quark. "I said, I want to fight you bitches." Her grinned very dangerous. "My boyfriend is doing his diplomatic thing right now, and I need something to pass the time. So how about it? You guys ready to roll?"

Quark squeaked as the three Klingons grinned like sharks.

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At the same time, the discoloration following Bashir went into a small library. Or at least, what Kasumi assumed to be a library. The room was filled banks of computer consoles and shelves with padds on them, at any rate. She appeared in a brief flash, slowly looking around the room, frowning. "Okay. Khan and augments. Let's see what I can find."

00000000000000000000000000000000000AuthorsNote00000000000000000000000000000000000000

I reserve the right to believe that even the most Paragon Jack is down for a fight or ninety. You can put the Psychotic Biotic in a classroom, but you can't make her stop doing what she loves.

A lot of fics seem to believe that a paragon Jack would stop doing what she loves, but I don't think so. I can see her stopping the more destructive habits, and holding back other because of her kids being around. But Jack is someone who revels in the fun parts of life. And despite what some might think, having a good time and enjoying a fight for the sake of a good fight isn't a bad thing.

That said, Odo probably won't see it that way. And Shepard will have to very stern. Really. I promise.

In the meantime, the Augments thing is going to be a problem long before Eddington and Sisko go on a little trip together. Should be interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

Miles O'Brien wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he stood and glanced around. He and Nog had been on the Normandy for hours, spending time with their counterparts in Engineering. Most of the time had been spent learning how this ship worked and teaching the Normandy's engineers how ships from this universe worked.

The whole thing should have been frustrating. But O'Brien found himself enjoying the whole thing instead. He assumed that teaching a group of people, including one close to his own age, all about engineering would be boring. Hell, even Nog, the closest thing he had to a student, had at least been familiar with the basics. But not only was the process fun, but his students/teachers were fiercely intelligent and grasped the concepts with ease. It was honestly relaxing.

"I'm starting to realize why Keiko enjoyed this so much," O'Brien said with a soft sigh of satisfaction.

"Sorry sir?" Nog asked, looking up from the spot he was leaning on to inspect something.

"Nothing Nog, just… letting it all sink in."

The Ferengi cadet nodded. The two were currently in section known as 'Jack's hidey hole,' apparently an old joke among the crew.

"It is a lot to take in. Fascinating, actually. This ship is so advanced in some ways, but in others..." Nog shrugged. "It's a bit nostalgic sir."

"How so?" Tali said as she came around the corner, surprising Nog.

O'Brien had to admit that talking to someone with no real facial features took some getting used to. That said, she was probably his favorite student so far. That was a surprise, considering that Adams was a lot like him on the surface. The young Quarian was a real go getter, diving fearlessly into the science of the universe she was now in, comprehending things faster than the others. Even the other Quarians aboard couldn't match her sheer tenacity. As a result, O'Brien quickly warmed up to her.

"Well ma'am," Nog said politely, "when I was a kid, I'd often go repair systems in my uncle's bar with my father." He smiled at her. "That's how I first started learning about engineering. Learning all of this new information first-hand reminds me of that."

Tali cocked her head, rocking back on her heels a bit. After a moment, O'Brien realized she was startled. "Huh. You know, that's how I learned as well."

"_Really?_" Nog replied, fascinated.

"Yes. My father would take me around our ship, teaching me little things about engineering. I became an engineer because of him." Her voice had a touch of sadness to it. Obviously her father wasn't around anymore.

"Admiral?" O'Brien, Nog, and Tali turned to see a Quarian woman in a forest green suit carrying a datapad. "I had some ideas on repairs for the ship, and I was hoping to get some notes from you and Mr. O'Brien."

Nog and O'Brien felt their eyes bulge just a bit, spinning to stare at Tali.

"Admiral!?" Nog blurted.

Tali chuckled as the Quarian girl cocked her head in confusion at Nog's outburst. "Very well. We'll go over them in a moment. Gather everyone upstairs."

"Yes ma'am." The girl saluted before heading upstairs as Tali turned to see O'Brien looking at her in confusion.

"You're an Admiral? Why didn't you tell us?" he asked in shock.

"And miss the looks on your faces?" She teased. After a moment though, she sighed. "I suppose I'm not used to the rank yet. Maybe one day it'll be a bit more familiar, but…" She shrugged after a moment. "Anyways, we should see what they've come up with."

Tali headed upstairs as O'Brien and Nog traded a look.

"Admiral." O'Brien shook his head with a smile. "Well she's smart enough for it at least."

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Meanwhile, Jadzia and EDI were talking face to face for the first time. But they were both surprised when Samara joined them.

"I rarely meet people who've lived longer than I have," Jadzia said, shaking her head slowly. The idea that Samara was old enough that she was an adult during some planets' medieval periods shocked her a bit, and fascinated her even more.

"And now you have met two," EDI said calmly.

"Wait, who's the other one?" Jadzia asked, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Urdnot Wrex is over a thousand years old," Samara informed Jadzia placidly. She smiled at Jadzia's reaction. "I do find your species intriguing. You say your people see the symbiont as an honor?"

"Yes." Jadzia smiled. "It's seen as a way of passing on knowledge and wisdom from person to person down generations." Her smile faded a bit. "However, while we try to screen the applicants so that the symbionts go to the right people, there have been... mistakes." Her smile returned. "But everything I've seen, the things I remember… it really is an honor."

"I find it similar to accessing archived data," EDI noted.

"Ah, yes," Samara said, comprehending. "The passage of important knowledge down the ages, as detailed as the day it was created."

"An apt analysis," Jadzia said, looking at Samara. "By the way... I don't mean to be rude, but I'm supposed to be collecting data on Eezo and its properties."

"I see." Samara nodded. "Would you like me to return later?"

"Just the opposite." The Trill woman grinned. "I was hoping to see you demonstrate your abilities while I take some readings on my tricorder. I have some data already, but a first-hand demonstration would be a tremendous help to my own understanding of it."

"I see." Samara nodded. "Very well. I will show what I am able. I would suggest going to the Shuttle Bay before we do so."

"I believe your data would be more comprehensive if most of the biotics aboard the Normandy aided us," EDI suggested. "Though biotics are by no means rare, their applications can vary from person to person. And many of our current crew are known as the best in their field in our universe."

"An excellent idea." Samara rose. "If you will follow me?"

"Sure." Jadzia turned to EDI. "Um, about those files? I know you still have trouble with our systems, but if you-"

"No need." EDI told her. "I have already sent the relevant information to you."

Jadzia blinked. "Really? I thought you couldn't interface with our computers."

"Yes." EDI smiled, eyes glowing just a bit. "However, Chief O'Brien installed a basic subspace communications system and gave me the information I needed to create software that could convert data between the formats our respective systems use. There is undoubtedly room for improvement in the program, but it is sufficient for the moment. I hope that a more comprehensive program can be created before I consult with the computer security experts Constable Odo recommended. Ultimately, I hope to teach the Geth how to interface with your systems, and later improve the security of Deep Space 9, the Defiant, and the Normandy."

"Wow." Jadzia grinned, unable to contain her excitement. "I can't wait to see how that turns out."

EDI followed Samara and Jadzia towards the elevator. In the seconds that took, she sent a message to Joker, rewatched video of the Jem'Hadar attack, and reviewed information she learned about this universe. A second later, she was analyzing her catalog of this new universe's thousands of known species, felt a positive reaction to Jeff's smile at her message, and a negative reaction when the Jem'Hadar tried to shoot Engineer Adams.

In her research of old fiction, she discovered that many believed that seeing the world between the beats of a millisecond might be boring or tedious. She never felt that way. Life, in all its variations, could occupy her for millions of years as she review petabytes of information over the time it took Jeff's smile to widen. And yet, she'd never become bored.

As she entered the elevator, EDI smiled, and Joker wrote back that he loved her too, in his humanly slow and perfect way.

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General Martok growled as he sped through the Promenade of DS9 like a starship heading into battle. The people roaming the Promenade stores stepped out of his way with practiced ease.

Most of them were now used to the sight of Martok marching his way into Odo's security office. Even the most talkative Bajorans found nothing gossip worthy in this. Quark cheated his customers, Morn broke another heart, Martok picked up his Klingons. Even Martok was aware of how routine it was. Which was why he was surprised when a human stepped into Odo's office at the same time.

The human in question was dressed oddly. He wore a black leather jacket with "N7" emblazoned over the heart, a gray undershirt, and tough looking pants. The human looked at Martok in confusion before looking at Odo.

As always, the Changeling seemed amused by Martok's entrance, and even more by Shepard's. "General, Commander. How can I help you both?"

"None of these games Odo," Martok growled in annoyance. "I was told my men were here and that I was to 'pick them up'."

"Indeed." Odo smirked. "It was a bit rowdy this time, to the point that customers emptied out of the bar. Quark is still crying." The last was said with a bit of delight. "Some tables were flipped and chairs thrown about, but nothing too bad."

"Why do I get the feeling this Quark guy crying is the only reason you aren't angrier about this?" Shepard asked wryly; Martok grinned at that.

"Now Commander," Odo said, crossed his arms, looking absolutely shocked by the insinuation. "I would never promote the loss of profits for a greedy soul such as Quark."

He chuckled, then motioned for them to follow him. "Come on. We have the group in the back, plus one more of yours Commander."

"Really?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. My deputies spotted some anomalous readings, but it took them a bit to figure out it was a person instead of some sort of sensor error. We found her exploring the station under cloak after she attempted to activate a library interface without permission. According to your crew dossiers, she often does this, and since she hasn't stolen anything or attempted to breach security in secure areas, she's being released for the sake of diplomacy. That said, I've warned her that she might not be so lucky the next time."

Odo didn't think the warning would do much, if anything. The kleptomaniac was more intrigued than cowed by the idea she could be detected. Odo could look the other way as long as she didn't interfere with safety and property on the station, but establishing himself as an opponent from the start would make her more cautious. If she became better at her craft, well… Odo was pragmatic enough to know how useful a thief could be in a war.

Martok raised his eyebrow at the 'Commander.' The man didn't look like any Starfleet officer he'd ever seen. They tended to wear their uniforms constantly, even in their off time. He obviously wasn't on leave, if he was here to pick up his men, and in his experience, human civilian clothes were rarely as tasteful.

That's when Martok was blindsided by another surprise. Four people were in the largest holding cell. Three were his men. One was a heavily tattooed human woman. Another cell held a human woman in a skin tight outfit, with a hood that drowned most of her features in shadow. A strange orange hologram engulfed her left hand and forearm, which the woman waved back and forth.

Shepard cocked his head as Jack and three Klingons sang along to music coming from Kasumi's omni-tool.

"Free, on my own, that's the way it used to be," Jack sang in an exaggerated fashion as she and the Klingon swayed, their arms on each other's shoulders. She grinned at the sight of Shepard, lifting an arm to point at him. "But since I met you baby, love's got a hold on me!"

"Fooled around and fell in love!" The Klingons sang the chorus together, the deep voices perfect for the song. Kasumi wiped a fake tear away as Martok found himself cocking his head as well. "I fooled around and fell in love!"

"It's been like this all day." Odo smirked as Shepard and Martok struggled to process what they were seeing and hearing. "They started with Chuck Berry and worked their way through the years."

Martok shook his head. "You humans continue to confuse me."

"Would it help if I told you they were from another universe?" The baleful look Martok gave Odo said otherwise.

At the same time, Kasumi and Shepard's eyes met. Kasumi nodded, just a bit. That was enough for Shepard.

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"Captain Sisko... I'd like to talk." Sisko looked up from his desk and saw Shepard standing at the door, wearing clothes that seemed more suited to a holo-novel set in the twenty-first century. Sisko raised a brow at the serious look on Shepard's face.

"Very well," Sisko was curious about this. "I was about to call you in, actually. I'm about to speak to my superior about everything we discussed. Are you all right?"

"No." Shepard sighed. "We have to discuss this 'augment' thing."

Sisko hid his surprise. "Oh. So you've heard."

"I've heard that you decided to hide the fact that my people are technically augments from your people until it became relevant." Shepard smiled. "And I appreciate the thought. But I want it out in the open."

"Oh." Sisko was taken aback. "May I ask why? I would think you'd want to keep this under wraps for a bit."

"I thought about it," Shepard admitted. "But I prefer we play it straight with you and your superiors. If something like this came out later, it could make us all look suspicious and untrustworthy." Shepard smirked. "Besides, we come from another universe, one where Starfleet's regulations and the reason for their existence never happened. Anyone who wants to come after us for rules we couldn't have known about is an idiot."

"…Or scared," Sisko said softly. "There are already rumors about how DS9 now has a group of soldiers unlike anything we've seen before. Terrifying, incredibly strong people from a savage, primitive universe. There's already a vedek on Bajor calling you everything short of demons, and I'm not sure the Kai would stop her if she did."

Shepard frowned. "I hadn't realized word of existence was spreading so fast."

"Well, what do you expect?" Sisko chuckled. "A mysterious ship with human writing on it appears out of nowhere? A group of never before seen aliens are also on that ship, which _might _be from an another universe and allying itself with the Federation? Rumors and speculation were inevitable, especially when Quark thinks he can profit off them."

"You have a point there." Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I want to be the one to explain all of this and the plan to help you in exchange for a way home. I don't want any secrets to pop up at a bad time and ruin everything ."

Sisko could understand that. "Well, I have already sent them a report. We'll be able to talk an admiral in a moment. He should be receptive to your requests."

"Thank you." The Spectre sat down as Sisko turned to the computer behind him and pressed a button. After a moment, the screen showed a man at a desk. He nodded. "Captain Sisko. It's good to see you."

"Admiral Ross," Sisko replied with a nod of his own. Ross's dark hair was combed back and years of tough decisions left deep wrinkles on his face.

_Give him a scar and he and Hackett would be brothers,_Shepard thought to himself.

"The other admirals and I looked over your proposal, Captain. I assume this is Commander Shepard?" Ross asked.

"Yes." Shepard said. "Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy."

Ross shook his head, something like a smile on his face. "Captain Sisko, you have a habit of attracting the strange. Between you and Picard, we're at a premium." He looked at Shepard again. "And I'm guessing you follow the trend, given the information Sisko sent me."

"It does seem to follow a pattern," Shepard admitted.

"Admiral, before we begin, Commander Shepard has something he wanted to discuss with you," Sisko interrupted.

"Really. What is it?"

Shepard took a moment to answer, trying to keep his facts straight.

"First, you need to know the full truth about my crew, past and present." Shepard smiled. "My people are the best in their fields. They're the strongest, smartest people in the universe we call home. Setting aside the ones with me due to circumstance, the rest are loyal, honorable people. I've to hell and back with them, and I trust them all implicitly."

Sisko and Ross waited for the shoe to drop.

"That said, many of the people now under my command are criminals."

"Excuse me?" Ross asked, befuddled. Sisko wasn't any better.

"You see, as the war against the Reapers..." Shepard paused. "You have the files on them, right?"

Ross nodded slowly.

"As the war progressed, it became a galactic effort. Everybody who had the will and skills joined the fight, whether they were military, civilian, criminal, or anything in between. With the losses to my crew, those people now make up a large percentage of the forces under my command. Some of them have committed crimes with steep penalties back home. But they've reformed somewhat and fight for the right reasons and cause. They're loyal and will fight to their last breath."

Ross leaned back in his chair, processing this.

"That isn't all," Shepard continued. "From what I've been told, Starfleet has a... cautious attitude toward genetic enhancement. In my universe, gene mods and cybernetics are common, especially among military personnel. Very few of my people, if any, are not augmented in some way. I'm probably the biggest example—most of my body is cybernetic, although a lot of it wasn't by choice."

Shepard turned to Sisko. "I died, you see. I was blown out into space when my ship was destroyed, then suffocated when my suit was compromised. My body entered the atmosphere of a planet, crash landed on the surface, and was discovered months later. A rich, insane dumbass brought me back by stuffing me full of cybernetics."

Ross and Sisko exchanged looks of quiet astonishment.

"I'm telling you this, Admiral, because I want you to trust me, as foolhardy as that sounds. I don't intend to keep secrets from you. All we want is to go home, and helping you to the best of ability is our best way to do that." Shepard motioned to himself. "So here we are. I've got a ship full of honorable soldiers, former civilians, and criminals, led by a man who was raised from the dead. I'm offering my help, in return for yours."

Ross looked at Shepard evenly, glancing at Sisko. "It seems like Commander Shepard shares your love for the dramatic."

"Impressive, isn't it?" Sisko said with that slow smile of his.

"Commander, Starfleet is not an organization that arrests people based on technicalities. At least, I'd like to think it isn't." Ross entwined his fingers. "The fact of the matter is that any questionable activities your people did were done in your universe and were handled by the legal systems in that universe. If these crimes were forgiven by your governments, then the Prime Directive protects you."

"Prime Directive?" Shepard asked in confusion.

"It's Starfleet's most important general order. Usually it's invoked to protect civilizations far less advanced than we are from exploitation or being given technology they're not ready for," Sisko explained. Shepard winced a bit. He was a bit envious of the sheer level of technology available in this universe. But then, this was also the future—just not _his_ future.

"Part of the Prime Directive states that we can't interfere in the politics or laws of another culture. With the sheer amount of differences between our universes, you and your crew count as a new culture," Ross said. "Therefore, genetic modification of people from _our _universe for any purpose other than medical treatment will be strictly prohibited. Agreed?"

Shepard realized what Ross was doing. Augmentation for the sake of augmentation wasn't allowed, but medical reasons were acceptable. Which gave them some room to work with. A generous amount, if he was careful.

"Agreed."

Ross nodded. "Starfleet Security is sending in a specialist to study your weapon and armor technology. He's one of our best—if anyone can figure out how to integrate our respective technologies, it's him."

"Starfleet Security is your weapon's R&D branch?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. This specialist is Tygarian. I'll send you the file on him. He has plenty of experience in the field and has proven himself multiple times. While he's on DS9, he'll be under your command, Captain."

"Which brings me to our next problem," Shepard said calmly. "Where do I rank around here? I don't want to draw lines in the sand or anything, but in my experience a clear chain of command helps keep things under control."

"That is a good point," Sisko said. "However, I don't think we have to worry about that too much. I think the current system the station operates under will suffice. You're in command of the Normandy and her crew; I'm in command of the station and the Defiant, and we simply notify each other when any problems or requests arise."

"That's fine with me," Shepard said with a smile. "And our ship?"

Ross leaned back in his chair. "I'll need a full report on what you need before I can propose anything to the rest of the Starfleet brass. However, I can allow Captain Sisko to provide the technicians you need and whatever supplies we can send in exchange for your own technology."

"And soldiers," Shepard said sternly. "Like I told Captain Sisko, I'm ready to go into any battles and missions you need me for."

"Are you sure?" Ross stopped Shepard's quick answer with a raised hand. "No, no. I can see you've made up your mind. For now, we'll use DS9 as a test bed for this alliance. Captain Sisko, you have full authorization to use Shepard and his men to supplement your forces. I trust you won't abuse this power."

"Thank you Admiral," Sisko replied. He took out a padd, returning to business. "Now, there are some other things on the agenda…"

Thirty minutes later, Admiral Ross signed off. Jadzia walked in along with Garrus, to Sisko's surprise.

"How'd it go?" Garrus asked. Shepard chuckled, rubbing his neck.

"Pretty well I think. A lot of stuff is up in the air. We're not moving over to the station for a week, but we're on our way."

"Good thing too. The barracks are pretty cramped right now," Garrus joked.

"He's not wrong," Jadzia added with a smile. "The ship was meant to run on a light crew, like the Defiant. Their new arrivals have made things a bit tight."

"Hmmm." Sisko steepled his hands. "Well, I believe we can accommodate you all. This station can house seven thousand people. Your crew would be a drop in the bucket."

Shepard gave Sisko a grateful nod. "I'll tell my people and give you a list of their names and needs. I know the Quarians are susceptible to diseases, so a clean room would be nice so they can have somewhere to stretch."

"Easy enough to provide. I'll also send you the station rules so there isn't any confusion... and to avoid any unfortunate incidents."

"Well, that's one problem taken care of." Garrus nodded to Jadzia. "And here's another. We figured out some of the stuff we'll need to repair the ship."

"Really?" Shepard said. "That fast?"

"The list isn't perfect," Jadzia said, curbing Shepard's enthusiasm. "It's based on what we've observed and some ideas we have to fix some of the more complex problems. I'll be creating some computer models to test the feasibility of our solutions, but it's only a start."

Garrus activated his omni-tool. "Right now, Tali and O'Brien are repairing a lot of internal damage with replicated replacements. We don't use anything really exotic in terms of materials, so the replicator is doing a fantastic job with the pieces our omni-tools can't create with omni-gel."

"The left wing is a problem, however," Jadzia noted with a frown. "We can't simply slap some impulse engines on a wing and attach it to the hull. We need to send the Normandy to a Starbase where they can design and build a proper impulse engine system to replace its current sublight engines."

Garrus and Shepard looked at each other in dismay. Both the Normandy SR-1 and -2 were home to them. Staying behind while the ship was repaired somewhere else...Shepard sighed. "All right. I'll send some of my technical experts with her. That way your engineers have plenty of experienced people to help and consult with."

"You have someone in mind?" Sisko asked.

"Adams, Kenneth, Gabby, and EDI." Shepard rattled off. "They can deal with the engineering stuff. Traynor, she helped with the retrofits. Joker, since the ship's his baby and he'll want as much time with those new engines as possible. I'd say Tali, but we need her and some of our other engineers to help with tech trading."

"Makes sense," Garrus said.

"Should we let Starfleet know about what we've come up with?" Jadzia asked Sisko.

"Yes. We need to get this done as soon as possible." Sisko leaned back in his chair. "The Normandy would be a sitting duck if the Dominion attacked the station right now. Getting her propulsion restored would solve that problem, at the very least."

Jadzia nodded at Sisko, grinning at Garrus as she left. "Guess I'll be busy. Talk later."

"Later." Garrus turned to Shepard and Sisko, who seemed confused by the duo's new friendship. Garrus chuckled. "Turns out we're both members of the lunatic best friends club."

"They'll be down one if you don't get out of here." Shepard huffed good-naturedly. Garrus laughed on his way out.

"All right." Shepard turned to Sisko, saluting with a smile. "See you later Captain."

"Likewise Commander," Sisko said, nodding.

Shepard turned and walked out, leaving Sisko to pick up his baseball and bounce it in his hands.

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In the Badlands, Rebecca Eddington led her fellow Maquis soldiers through the dark hallways of their base, phaser in hand. She sidestepped into a recessed doorway and shot at the Jem'hadar behind her. It was pointless. One died, but another took his place in the line of soldiers, the tidal wave of muscle and death. She cursed under her breath, but kept running.

"Get everyone onto the ship!" she yelled, ignoring the man next to her screaming in agony as a Jem'Hadar beam hit him in the back. "Hurry!"

All that mattered was the meeting point. _And Michael. _

Hope was hard to come by on the run. But Rebecca easily found it.

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	6. Chapter 6

The loud noise of AC/DC's Back In Black was the first thing Shepard heard upon waking up. He blinked, and groaned. Then he slowly reached for the snooze on his omni-tool. His hand was slapped away. He blinked, and groaned. He reached for the snooze. Again his hand was slapped away. He was beginning to think something was wrong when he heard Jack laughing.

"Well well. Hail Commander Shepard, the strongest man in the universe."

"Right now I'd settle for well-rested." He groaned. "You're mean."

"That's a fact." Jack said, sounding satisfied. Shepard chuckled and turned to look up at her. He wiped his eyes, trying to clear the blurriness, and cocked an eyebrow at the sight of Jack in a female Alliance marines uniform.

"I like the getup." He said with a smile.

"Eh, it's kinda constricting." She tossed him his N7 hoodie. "Come on Soldier Boy. We got work to do. You can peel me out of this once we get the crap finished up."

Shepard groaned, both at the exertion of getting up and the thought of what was ahead. "I hate Mondays."

"Keep saying that and I'm painting you orange and striped." Jack threw him a canteen, which he swigged, enjoying the water.

The two supersoldiers left the bedroom, Shepard cracking his neck just a bit as he went. Even after a week on the station, their new quarters were still a shock to him. Honestly, they were bigger than his captains quarters on the Normandy, and he'd already thought of that as excessive. Apparently everyone on the station got a place like this.

He grinned as he passed by a painting on the wall given to him by Kasumi. Apparently she had immediately gotten to work, using the most old school of methods to start stealing from the stations residents. Nothing serious as most stuff returned mysteriously, just enough to keep her on her toes. Quark on the other hand, was still looking for this painting.

Jack walked up to the replicator. "Give me some toast, eggs, and a plate of bacon." She grinned at the flash of light that preceded the meal in question. "Goddamn I love the future! We need to get this shit on the Normandy. I can have lasagna every day!"

She took the bacon for herself, passing Shepard the eggs. "How is it going by the way? They finish yet."

Shepard sighed, shaking his head. "Nowhere near done. Its been a week Jack."

She scoffed. "What, we're in the future and it still takes a month to fix a ship?"

"Yeah, how inconsiderate of them." Shepard grinned. "They're still having trouble deciding on what exactly they need to do. We have space to attach one of the generators, but in order to catch up with their tech it looks like we'll need to remove the Thanix and the Gardian arrays."

"Aw man," Jack looked crestfallen. "I love the Thanix."

"Me too." Shepard replied, sighing a bit sadly. "At the very least, the wings and stuff are solved. Tali took a trip to the facility, and she just came back today. I invited her for breakfast, and she'll be coming with Garrus." Jack nodded at that. Ever since coming here it hadn't been strange to have a quick meal in one of the others rooms. Except Javik, who was apparently researching every race in the galaxy for their weaknesses.

"What about you? Still working on that storm thing?" Shepard asked, taking another bite of his food.

"Ugh, that fucking shit." Jack groaned, wiping a hand through her hair. When she'd heard about how the biotics had managed to create a biotic storm during the Jem'Hadar attack, Jack had become obsessed with creating her own version. "There just isn't enough room to try it. I think I can make a smaller scale version, but what the fuck use is a storm if you can't take out a whole room with it?"

"…is that even possible?" Shepard asked, cocking his head. As a fellow biotic, he was well aware of the limitations of their abilities. But Jack was different. She was already at the level of some the most powerful Asari matriarchs, one of whom included Samara.

"Look, I can do it on some level at least. I just need to figure out the rest of the shit, and I need somewhere to do it." Jack grinned. "Then we can see how good your Flare shit is."

Shepard was about to respond when a sound rang out around the room. After a moment Shepard recognized it as the doors chime. "Enter."

The door slid open to reveal Garrus and Tali standing there with someone else. They entered the room.

"Hey Shep." Garrus said with a smile. He was wearing his usual armor, as clean and well made as ever, while Tali was dressed in a pale white version of her usual suit, her 'formal' outfit.

"Hey. You just get back Tali?" Shepard asked as they stepped in.

"Yes. Let me grab some food before I talk." Tali said, sounding a bit tired.

One of the things the Quarians on board DS9 enjoyed was the freedom their new accommodations enjoyed. Dextro food protocols were added to the system, and clean room allowed them to sleep outside of their suits, with rigorous care of course. Tali especially seemed to enjoy the whole thing.

As Garrus sat down and Tali grabbed some food, Shepard noticed the third person standing awkwardly at the door.

One of the multipliers had turned out to be one of the more unique individuals on board. First, she was the only female Turian. Second, she was the only biotic Turian. Third, she was dating one of the Vorcha on board the ship, and it was apparently, according to Traynor, 'damn adorable.'

"Hello. Did you want to come in?" Shepard said politely. The Turian woman nodded, walking forwards.

"Thank you sir. I didn't want to intrude, but I was hoping you could intercede in a personal matter."

"Of course. You're Amda right?" Shepard said.

"U-Uh, yes sir." She answered, shocked that he even knew her name.

"Well, sit down. I promise we don't bite." Shepard grinned. "Well, maybe Garrus does, from what Tali told me."

Garrus coughed, a bit of food landing back on his plate. When he stopped he stared at Tali. "You told!?"

Tali stared forward, mortified as Shepard tried to hold back his laughter. Jack didn't have the same problem, almost falling out of her seat. "No. He was joking Garrus." Tali said robotically.

Amda stared at the heroes of the galaxy as Garrus tried to pick up the pieces of his shattered dignity, though the half smile on his face said he didn't mind to much.

"So, what did you need kid?" Jack asked, shoving a length of bacon down.

"Oh, right." The Cabal specialist turned back to Shepard. "Well, me and my friends were curious about the holodecks they have on the station. So we went to Quarks bar to try and get one. We even borrowed some of those latinum things to do it. But he didn't let us in."

Shepard quirked an eyebrow. "I haven't tried them myself yet, but I haven't heard this before."

"That's because no one really tried." Tali said. "We've all been busy with assignments, trying to get ourselves situated on the station and getting things set up for when the tech expert arrives, like setting aside copies of everyone's omni-tools and amps."

"So why are they keeping you out?" Garrus asked Amda.

"Apparently because the owner wants to talk to Commander Shepard." Amda said, confused.

"He couldn't just call." Tali said, dumbfounded.

"He said he tried. But nothing went through." Amda answered.

Everyone turned to Shepard. He shook his head. "I've been ignoring my calls. Anyone I actually want to talk to I meet anyways, and if it's important than Traynor will… tell… me."

He sighed. "I've been a terrible person on that end, haven't I?"

"Have you even answered an e-mail since you came back to life?" Garrus asked incredously. "I mean, like actually typing out a response."

"…You know, I'm going to ignore your tone, and go talk to this guy. Jack, when you stop laughing, let me know how the storm thing goes. Garrus, get Jadzia and meet Tali at whatever airlock this guy is popping up at. Amda, lead the way."

"Yes sir!" Shepard and Amda walked out, leaving some of the closest people to Shepard in this or any universe to laugh like mad men behind him.

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"About time!" Quark said, looking up and scowling at Shepard. "What, do humans not answer messages where you come from?"

Shepard already met Nog, a Ferengi Starfleet cadet. Tali liked him. Nog was a good kid and a credit to his uniform, if a bit eager to prove himself. But he wasn't the norm, apparently.

Quark's echoed with the sound of glasses clinking, food and drink orders, women in skimpy clothes giggling at men with more money than looks, and aggressive aliens growling. Shepard felt more at home here than anywhere else on the station.

"I apologize," Shepard said calmly. "I've been busy the past few days. You did find a way to get my attention, though."

"You should be flattered ," Quark said snidely. "I've actually turned away customers."

Shepard could see the very thought horrified Quark.

"Well, I'm here. What do you want?" Shepard cut to the chase.

"My own moon would be nice," Quark answered with a touch of nostalgia, picking up a cup and cleaning it with a rag. "But here's the thing. Your girlfriend destroyed quite a few tables when she came in here last time, _and _she drove out paying customers like this fellow here." Quark nodded towards an alien sitting at the bar. Shepard and the fat, gray skinned man exchanged a look. "I can't let your crew in, when anyone of you could be another one of those…"

"Biotics."

"Yes, exactly. How can I let one of your people in when there's the chance they'll go crazy and destroy my bar?" Quark shook his head. "Now I'm willing to make some... concessions, in return for-"

"You know, I've met your nephew." Shepard replied placidly. His mind raced, like it always did when he turned someone into an ally. Something Joker said pushed its way to the forefront. It was a ridiculous idea he came up with before he left with the Normandy. It may have just been a joke, but...

It was a damn good idea.

"Oh, have you now?" Quark asked, confusedby the change in topic.

"Yeah. _And _Kira and Odo. All three, in various ways, warned me that you might try to get some profit out of me."

"Lies and simple rumors. I'm a legitimate business man," Quark said with a smirk.

"I hope not. Because I need a business man who's willing to get a bit dirty."

"Oh?" Quark was intrigued. "Now why would you need someone like that?"

Shepard smirked. "You want repayment for damages. Normally, I'd tell you to take it up with Jack, and she would break all your bones and leave you on the floor of the deepest hole on Bajor, screaming."

Quark gulped. "W-Well, I'm glad you're choosing another option."

"I am. I need cash from this universe. You have connections. According to Odo, while you might be a crook, you also never pass up an opportunity for profit." Shepard leaned forward. "I have things from another universe. Not simple trinkets, but things that will make you a profit over and over. Movies, video games, magazines—all unlike anything from this universe."

Quark's eyes seemed to glow with greed. "You're suggesting-"

"I'm suggesting a partnership. I give you access to the entertainment of a new universe, you give me a share of the profits."

"And how do I know this will be valuable?" Quark challenged. "Who says anyone will even care about it?"

"You kidding?" Shepard grinned. "There are things that will always be universal from universe to universe. Romance, action, fantasy, mystery. Every person on my ship has an omni-tool, and they can hold hundreds of hours of entertainment. You get all the profit of your own entertainment empire, without having to pay actors, directors, photographers, or any production costs."

Quark put down the glass as the magnitude of what he was hearing dawned on him. He put it away absentmindedly, focused on Shepard.

"It would take time," Quark said after a moment. "I'd need to set up distribution. Advertise it a bit."

"Free stuff is the best kind of advertisement," Shepard suggested.

"F-Free!?" Quark spat out.

"Yes. You give three films, covering three different genres, to people on the station who travel a lot. Let word of mouth do the work from there. You give something away for free, and you get advertised for the exact same price."

Quark licked his lips. "Well, I'd have to be crazy not to accept a deal like that. For a share of, shall we say-"

"Fourty/Sixty." Shepard cut him off. "Forty for me, sixty for you. I'm not an idiot, and any money that comes out of this will be useless back home. So, forty is fine. In return, you let my people into the bar without a problem, and pass me any rumors you hear on interesting tech—especially ship and weapon tech."

Quark stared at Shepard. After a moment, he nodded. "What's your name again?"

"Shepard."

"You've got a mind for profit, for a human that is. You have a deal."

"And my crew? You'll let them in?"

"Hell, I'll give the girl who brought you here a deal." Quark smirked. He turned to a Ferengi standing behind him. "You, get back here and start selling drinks. I have some calls to make!"

Shepard cocked an eyebrow as Quark ran to the back room of the bar, then turned to look at Amda. She and her friends, an Alliance Marine, a Geth, and a Vorcha, were all staring at him in shock.

The marine finally opened her mouth. "Did you… just start an entertainment company so we could have a few drinks?"

Shepard blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did. Granted, it's my pilot's idea, and we do need the cash, but yeah."

"I love you." She said, licking her lips.

"**Thank you Shepard.**" The flabbergasted Vorcha said (which still sounded like a snake being strangled).

"No problem. You guys go have a good time, okay?"

Shepard smiled as the group headed to the bar, then turned around. "Hey, Mel!" The group turned and the human woman stared at Shepard in shock. "It's good to finally talk to another N7. We should hang out sometime."

"Fuck yeah, we should!" She replied.

Shepard chuckled as he left the bar. He reminded himself to thank god for Vega and Joker, who gave him separate halves of the idea, and EDI, who apparently kept thousands of entertainment files in her database.

_For now though, back to business._

Time to find Barla Von.

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One of DS9's science labs had been set aside for the Normandy crew. Ashley Williams, James Vega, and Steve Cortez were there now, looking over basic information about Starfleet's small arms. Ashley held a padd in her hands displaying information a phaser rifle Starfleet forces almost universally used. After staring at a bit, she put the padd down, then looked Vega. He was working out in his usual spot, muscles curling as he went through yet another repetition of push-ups. Ashley admired the play of muscles along his back moving before she turned to Cortez, who held a padd of his own.

"You're thinking the same thing, right?" She asked him carefully.

Cortez nodded slowly. "It looks like a toy."

It was true. Given what she'd seen of this universe's technology, Ashley didn't doubt the weapon's lethality. But between its ridiculously low weight and appearance, it seemed more like something that would be sold in a store, rather than issued to a soldier. It was disorienting to see something so advanced, it didn't have to conform to the standard rules of weapon design.

"I like 'em," James said, rising and walking over. "They look like one of those Flash Gordon guns."

"You watched Flash Gordon?" Cortez said skeptically.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm a man of extreme culture," James said as primly as a man built like a mountain could.

"Your extranet history would say otherwise." Ashley hid her smile at Cortez's coughing laughter.

"Man, you got mean Ash," James said petulantly.

"I guess I did. Me with my curves, you with no breaks," she said sarcastically, giving him a level look. "How else am I supposed to act?"

"Oh… uh." James chuckled nervously at the very dangerous woman and her small smirk.

"Wait, you used that line again?" Cortez said incredulously. "You speak a second language and that's the best line you could think of?"

"Like you could," James grumbled.

"Of course I could, I was married." Cortez said. The words now had a nostalgic warmth, rather than the old pain they used to have.

"Whatever." James grumbled. He picked up one of the padds, looking it over. "Still, I hope we can get to mess around with these soon. The amount of settings on this thing are ridiculous. It's like they wanted one gun for everything."

"I can understand the appeal," Cortez said. "You don't have to switch between weapons for every situation."

"It is useful." Ashley admitted. "But it doesn't look like they've developed a sniper version. Its shots are way too bright for any kind of long range stealth. I'd use this in regular infantry combat, but our weapons are probably better for the stuff Garrus specializes in."

"You really think these guys can upgrade our own weapons?" James asked.

"Why not?" Ashley said. "They seem pretty advanced. If they can do what they're doing for the Normandy to our guns, the Reapers will be a piece of cake when we get back home."

"James." All three of them turned to see Shepard standing at the door with Sisko. They quickly stood at attention and saluted.

"Sir," James said professionally.

"I'd like for you to come with us and meet the specialist. It's basically just walking around with him, but having an Alliance soldier would round out the representatives meeting him." Shepard said. "Ashley, Steve, I'd like you two to get the armors out. Every model we have, in all configurations."

"Yes sir!" They said in unison. Shepard and Sisko turned to leave, with Vega in tow. Ashley and Cortez turned to the crates full of examples of their technology.

"Aren't most of these armors Shepard's?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"…he basically asked us to unpack his clothes."

Cortez grinned. "Didn't you hear? When it came to the suits, the first thing he wanted was Shade armor variants for everyone."

"Well now." Ashley grinned. "That could be fun."

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A little while later, Jadzia, Jack, and Tali waited outside an airlock for their new arrival.

"So what exactly do Tygarians look like?" Tali asked politely.

"It's… hard to describe really." Jadzia crossed her arms as she thought. "They're reptilian humanoids... they tend to have green or gray scaled skin."

"Nothing we haven't seen before, then." Jadzia had to agree with Tali's point. The Normandy crew certainly had a number aliens that diverged from the typical humanoid form that dominated the galaxy. The Turians and Krogan were particularly interesting in that regard.

"So what am I doing here again?" Jack asked, annoyed.

Jadzia glanced at her. "Well, Tali told me you taught people about biotics in your universe. I thought having you close by would let us show us the full range of biotic abilities."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said, apparently focused on something else. "Just tell me when to blow shit up."

That was another thing about the Normandy's crew. While the Turians and Alliance soldiers were so disciplined that they made her feel slovenly, the rest were just odd. Some, like the mercenaries, were very casual, while others, like the Asari in the Justicar order, reminded her of Vulcans – constantly meditating and approaching life calmly.

Granted, they smiled more than Vulcans did.

And Jack was different from any human she'd ever met. Not just her tattoos, but her language, the sheer confidence that burned within her, the way she was ready to take on anything.

Come to think of it, she was a lot like Sisko... except for the profanity.

That explained why she liked the biotic so much. She might have been the most refreshingly honest person Jadzia had ever met.

"So, are you going to tell me how far down they go or what?" Jack asked, grinning.

Jadzia grinned back, remembering this conversation. "I told you. Only Worf gets to know."

"What the hell, we'll get the boys together and let them compare notes." Jadzia's grin became positively devilish at that. Worf could be very prudish for a Klingon. The idea of him and Shepard comparing their girlfriends' markings would send him into a sputtering shock, which was absolutely adorable to watch.

"Come to think of it," Jack said, becoming serious and a bit curious. "I haven't gotten to meet this guy. Actually, you're the only Starfleet person I've met."

"Really?" Jadzia said, confused.

"I've met Nog, O'Brien, you, and Bashir," Tali said next. "But most have the rest seem to be keeping their distance."

"Huh. I don't know why they would do that," Jadzia said, confused. "I know some of them are busy, but they're not _that _busy."

"Oy." Jack nodded towards the corridor. Sisko, Shepard, and Vega were walking towards them. "I think it's almost time."

"Ladies." Vega said with a polite nod, and grinned at Jack. She nodded at her fellow tattoo aficionado. Vega would help the Starfleet weapon specialist with their weapons, while Ashley kept picking out armor.

"Ready to meet our new scientist Benjamin?" Jadzia asked Sisko.

"I've worked with Starfleet Security before." Sisko smiled. "They're a lot like Starfleet engineers and science personnel, just a lot more eager to get hands on with their projects."

"Here he is," Shepard noted.

The small group watched the gear shaped doors roll aside. An averaged sized man wearing a Starfleet security uniform stepped out. The Tygarian's dark green skin contrasted with the two bony ridges rising from his nose, which jutted out above his eyes, and wrapped around the back of his head. Pale blue skin could be seen between the two ridges, which were connected by thin, arcing pieces of bone.

The Normandy crew members all thought the same thing at the same time: _Grunt would love this guy._

"Lieutenant Commander Kormah Lornak, requesting permission to come aboard," he said in a rough sounding voice.

"Permission granted. Welcome aboard Deep Space Nine," Sisko replied.

"Thank you, Captain Sisko." The men stepped forward and shook hands. Lornak turned to the rest. "I would like to apologize if I seem curt. I am told I have a tendency to do so, but I would like to get started immediately, if possible. Commander Shepard, my team will need to see some of your equipment, if you will allow it."

Shepard blinked. "You already know who I am?"

Lornak nodded. "I memorized every file about you and your crew before I arrived. It allows me to skip introductions."

"That's… efficient?" Tali said slowly.

"Thank you Mrs. Zorah, though I imagine you truly think otherwise. I look forward to working with you nonetheless." He turned to Jadzia as the rest of his team arrived, carrying bags and cases of equipment.

Jadzia nodded. "Right. Well, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where we've cleared out space for you to work."

Vega raised an eyebrow at Shepard as the group walked off. "He's a bit quick to get started, huh?"

"You call him Speedy and I'll accuse you of being unoriginal." Shepard warned with a smirk.

"Nah, I'll come up with something better. Later Loco, Estoico." Vega followed the small group. Sisko looked at Shepard.

"Estoico? Spanish for stoic?"

"Yeah, that's James for you." Shepard laughed.

"Hmm. I suppose I've been called worse." Sisko continued talking as they walked away. "I didn't meet you and Mr. Vega just to introduce myself to our to new weapons technician."

Shepard turned his head, confused. "Okay. Did you want to talk about something?"

"This is something different a bit. I've noticed that our two groups have been keeping their distance. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but your crew will be living with us for a while. I want them to feel comfortable staying on the station. Unlike the Klingons or our other allies, we'll be sharing a home, much like we are with the Bajorans."

"And having our groups be on edge all the time is going to get someone hurt." Shepard finished. "So what's your plan?"

Sisko grinned. "I'm inviting you over for dinner with my son and Nog. It's only a start, letting people see us interacting on a personal level to help smooth things out."

Shepard immediately saw the thinking behind the plan. Inviting the new ship's commander to dinner with Sisko's own son showed that he trusted Shepard. Still...

"It's a good idea," Shepard conceded. "But it won't be effective if I'm the only one going."

"That's why I want you to invite the leader of the one race that's making everyone nervous," Sisko said with a slow smile.

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Jake Sisko opened the door to his father's quarters. He looked up... and up. There stood Urdnot Wrex, smiling. A smiling Shepard poked his head out from behind the Krogan.

"Hello," Wrex said, sounding like he rehearsed this. "Your father invited us. May we come in?"

"…could I stop you if I wanted too?" Jake asked incredulously.

Wrex's smile widened.  
>00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000<p>

Dr. Chakwas stared at the screen in front of her, her expression between annoyed and fascinated. She sat at a terminal in Deep Space Nine's infirmary, looking over medical files and fighting the feeling that she was superfluous. She still had confidence in her medical skills, but she was no magician.

But it seemed like the doctors of this universe were. They could cure diseases with simple injections and pills, perform plastic surgery in an afternoon and reverse it in moments, eradicate diabetes. It was one miracle on top of another. Chakwas knew she wasn't the only one being astounded by what this universe could do, but still...

"Doctor?" She turned to see Dr. Bashir standing behind her, holding a can of medi-gel. "Are you all right? You've been reading the same page for the past few minutes."

"And you were standing there watching me do it," she said with a small smile. He shrugged and smiled back. "Yes, I suppose I wasn't very focused. I'm simply trying to decide where I fit in this new universe."

"What do you mean?" Bashir asked, confused.

"While my universe tries its best, we haven't gotten to the point you have in medicine. In my universe, I am an excellent physician. Here, I'm a novice. Not a good feeling when you're my age."

Bashir stared at her for a moment. "I'm not so sure I agree."

Chakwas turned and cocked her head. "Why is that?"

"Your experience, while a bit rudimentary in terms of disease research and related fields, is far more extensive than mine in combat medicine. In fact, most Federation doctors don't find themselves treating people during combat at all. More than that, your experience with medi-gel is more valuable than anything else on the Normandy." He smirked. "In my biased opinion, of course."

"You find it that interesting, do you?" Chakwas leaned back in her chair.

"Absolutely." Bashir said earnestly. "A simple gel that can be applied in the field, treating any battle wound within moments of it happening? A gel that can counter the anti-coagulant effects of Jem'Hadar weapons? This will save lives on a massive scale, and your experience in its various uses and applications will be of extreme value."

"Well I should hope its effective," Chakwas gave Bashir a knowing look. "After all, it was created through illegal genetic research." Bashir froze, the medi-gel sloshing a bit in its container. "It proved too useful to outlaw, in spite of the illegal way it was created. And in the end, I really think we're better off for it."

"…How long have you known?" He asked.

"Shepard told us about your genetic engineering taboo days ago. Given your enthusiasm for learning about our history of genetic engineering, it didn't take too long to put two and two together." She chuckled. "Really young man, you thought I would ostracize you for being genetically modified? Considering the modifications I've had, never mind the rest of the crew?"

He chuckled a bit self-consciously. "Yes, well, force of habit I suppose. I've kept it secret so long that having it out in the open now is a bit disorienting. That said, I'm surprised that medi-gel should be an illegal product. I thought, with the genetic modifications in most of your crew..."

"We aren't fools, Julian," Chakwas said gently. "There are strict legal limits on what we can do with genetic engineering. Only enhancing traits is allowed, so increasing muscle density and performance is fine. Giving humans night vision or the ability to digest cellulose, on the other hand, is illegal. In fact, there are only three humans on the crew whose enhancements are illegal, and none of them gained them by choice: Shepard, Miranda, and Jack."

"Miranda and Jack." Bashir said slowly, almost tasting the words. "I assume you don't mean their biotics."

"Yes and no." Chakwas sighed. "For all their similarities, they rarely get along. Jack was kidnapped as a child by an organization called Cerberus–some of use used to work for them out of desperation. They spent no expense turning her into the ultimate biotic. The worst part was that they experimented on other children, using them as test subjects for possible enhancements for Jack. Some of them were forced to attack her waves to test her skills."

"God," Bashir said, horrified at the very idea.

"Miranda had a different experience. Her father, a lunatic by the name of Henry Lawson, wanted to create the perfect child. He harvested DNA samples from multiple women and combined them with his own DNA. He engineered Miranda to be the perfect human being before she was even born."

Chakwas laughed. "While Jack is the ultimate biotic and Shepard is the greatest soldier we have, Miranda could master almost every field she tries. Technology, science, biotics, combat. The only thing Miranda has never mastered is social skills, and she's slowly gaining traction there. But she was watched constantly as a child. And when her father created her sister, she became suspicious of his motives."

The younger doctor started feeling like he needed a drink as Chakwas continued. "She once told me her worst fear. Only Shepard and I know about it. Why would a man spend billions creating the perfect woman? Why would he spend all that money developing her, shaping her to have superhumanly good looks… and then make her infertile?" Chakwas shook her head. "Her sister doesn't have the same defect. Why would a psychopath make the perfect woman… and recreate her with the ability to give birth?"

Bashir stood there, absorbing the information. Shepard died. Jack tortured. Miranda used as a prototype. "There are days where I realize how truly lucky I am."

"Ha!" Chakwas leaned forward with a wide grin. "Please Julian. These are human beings, not angst ridden soap opera actors. Their stories had amazing endings. Shepard is a hero to millions. Jack is a teacher, and in love with someone who is absolutely smitten with her. Miranda's sister is safe with a new family that allows them to speak every day, and Miranda herself is best friends with some of the greatest people in history."

She gives Bashir a meaningful look. "They didn't choose their gifts. But I like to use the example of a calculator. It can make equations easier to understand and process. But the meaning we give to those equations, the reasons we use the calculator, are what matter. Not our tools, not how they were given to us, but what we choose to do with them.

The room was silent as Bashir contemplated what Chakwas was saying. "Thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome doctor." Chakwas replied gracefully.

"Well, I suppose it's my duty to prepare you for this new universe of medicine." Bashir said with a bright grin. "Shall we get started?"

"Fire away, young man."

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"Delicious," Wrex growled, putting another piece of squid in his mouth. Sisko smiled proudly, glad to have another fan of his food.

"You like it?" He asked.

"Of course he does!" Nog said enthusiastically. "It's great!"

"I never say anything I don't mean," Wrex said profoundly before shoveling more food into his mouth. He was already on his fourth helping.

"Good to know," Jake shook his head and smiled. "How'd you make these dad?"

"Well, I remembered how much Nog loved eating squid on Earth. So I made a sauce with tube grubs to season it for him." Sisko said calmly.

Shepard, quietly enjoying his meal, froze with a forkful of squid near his mouth. He and Jake shared a look. Jake looked in horror at the food on Shepard's fork. After a moment, Shepard ate it. Jake was stunned, a disgusted look on his face.

"I was raised in the ghetto." Shepard told Jake. "Believe when I say I can get over what's actually in my food." Shepard shuddered. "No matter how bad it was. Believe me, this is heaven."

Nog and Wrex shared a look of their own, rolling their eyes at the humans while Sisko tried hiding his laughter.

"So Nog, how are you enjoying your work in security?" Sisko asked politely.

"Oh, it's going great!" Nog said a bit too loudly.

"Wait, you told me the Klingons- oomph!" Jake's grunt happened exactly when the table bobbed up a bit, both due to a kick from Nog.

"What about the Klingons?" Sisko asked, puzzled.

Nog hesitated for a moment, then answered. "It's the Klingons sir. They refuse to listen to me because I'm a Ferengi."

"Well, that's nothing to be ashamed of," Shepard said. "It took me a while to gain some credibility in my own universe."

"Up until you came back from the dead." Wrex chuckled. "Everybody listens to dead men."

"…I'd rather not resort to dying, thank you." Nog cast a nervous look at Shepard.

"Do what I do," Wrex suggested. "Whenever someone in my clan gets uppity, all it takes is one hard headbutt. An easy way to exert your authority. Hell, Shepard's done it a few times."

Jake chuckled as Nog looked at Wrex and considered his advice. "Yeah, well, if Nog did that, the Klingons would tear his arms off."

"You don't have to _literally_ headbutt them," Shepard explained. "It's not about violence. It's about strength. About proving that when something with overwhelming force comes at you, you're willing to take the hit and keep on going."

Wrex nodded, looking over Nog. "I haven't actually talked to a Klingon yet. But if they're anything like my people, you need to choose a place of battle-"

"Metaphorically," Shepard interrupted.

"Sure, if you want to be boring, a place of battle, and refuse to concede. If every Klingon on the station tells you to move, look them dead in the eye," Wrex smiled dangerously, "and _dare them to make you._"

Nog stared at Wrex, awed by the large alien. Shepard and Sisko shared a look and a grin while Jake's hands ached for a padd to write those words on. It had been a pretty good speech, after all.

The door chime rang.

"Enter." Sisko called. General Martok stepped in as the door slid open.

"Captain," Martok gave Sisko a nod of respect, then stopped when he saw Shepard and Wrex. "Ah, I apologize. I knew you had guests, but there is an urgent matter I must tell you about."

Sisko looked at Martok curiously. "Very well. Let's speak in the other room."

Later, Sisko wished he hadn't heard Martok's bad news. It was hard to enjoy good food after hearing that the Maquis were planning to launch missiles at Cardassia.


	7. Chapter 7

Tali and Jack stood close together, watching Kormah page through the datapad in his hand. Behind him, Ashley, Vega, and Cortez were handing different weapons and armor to Kormah's team for examination.

Kormah's team consisted of himself, a human male, a Caitian female, and a Bolian woman. They hadn't introduced themselves. Instead, they worked in perfect silence as Kormah looked over the designs.

"Delightful." Kormah said. "I assumed that your weapons would show a lack of innovation when I heard that you weren't at our universe's level of technology. Considering what your universe has achieved, these designs are amazing. Your universe must have some very vicious thinkers."

"Uh… thanks?" Vega said awkwardly.

"Starfleet is rather lax in its willingness to design infantry weapons. There have been improvements, but not at the rapid pace we once saw."

"We were hoping you could help us as well," Tali said softly. "We'd like to improve our weapons and equipments' efficiency."

"You want to improve your weapons?" Kormah frowned a bit. "You don't want to use phasers instead?"

Ashley walked up in time to hear that last question. "We do want to use phasers. But it's a huge mistake to force a soldier to use a weapon he isn't trained to use. We'll probably use them down the line, but right now, our guns are what make up half the threat we are."

"I see the logic." Kormah smiled just a bit. "Improving your weapons should be child's play. Especially the heat dissipation problems, which we are dealing with on your ship. Our materials and heat sink designs can disperse heat with immense efficiency. Your ammunition modifications are also intriguing. With some refinement, they could be very dangerous."

"And our armor?" Tali asked. "We wanted to know if you had ideas on modifying our shields to block phaser fire."

"Possibly, but there are no guarantees. At worst, installing a personal force field system could be a viable solution. Upgraded omni-tools would also be immensely useful. However, I have some questions about biotics. Can these implants be improved?"

Everyone looked at Jack. After a few seconds, she sighed. "Yeah, but it's fucking stupid to do it, because you need a hell of a neurosurgeon to replace one. Shepard got his upgraded, but that was when he was being rebuilt after crash landing on a planet. What you need to do is to improve the amps. They work with the implants and affect a biotic's efficiency and power output. Give someone a good enough amp and they can put out a fuckload of force."

"Hmmm. Something else to look into, then." Kormah mused. "Well, I suppose we had best get started."

"Thank you." Tali cocked her head. "By the way, we didn't get any schematics on your armor. Is that classified...?"

"Ah." Kormah took a second to respond. "Starfleet does not issue armor. It is, in part, a consequence of political decisions made over 75 years ago and current state of infantry weaponry."

"Wait, what?" Jack said. "How the hell do you tech geniuses not get killed?"

Kormah sighed. "Currently, the only personal defenses we have are personal force fields and beam resistant combat uniforms. Between the Federation Council's general reluctance to support purely military research over the past few decades, and the fact that even a hand phaser on its maximum setting can overwhelm a personal force field and vaporize the user, it should be no surprise that Starfleet prioritized starship technology over infantry weaponry and protection."

"So ... we're better at ground combat, because we haven't gotten to the point where our pistols can wipe out infantry, vehicles, and buildings," Ashley said.

"Correct. That, along with your governments' continued development of ground warfare technologies and techniques, makes your technologies and ideas invaluable in shoring up Starfleet's greatest weakness."

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Meanwhile, the Normandy sat in a spacedock in the Antares system. Although it had only been a week, the ship was crawling with personnel and equipment to study and repair the Normandy. Parts for retrofitting the ship were already being manufactured and tested in the nearby fleet yards.

"So booooored." Joker spun around in his chair. EDI gently smiled at him.

"I thought you were practicing the flight simulations that Starfleet gave you?" she asked.

"I was. I finished." Joker's voice was totally bland.

"Already?" EDI already knew the answer, having reviewed all the footage of Joker trying out Starfleet's various designs in a holodeck.

"It's a freaking video game. Even if you change where the buttons are, it's still a game. I can fly anything," he boasted. EDI avoided mentioning all the times he crashed the Enterprise NX-01 into Earth's moon.

Joker naturally found differences between each universe's methods of maneuvering starships. But the differences weren't so big that he couldn't get a grasp on this universe's way of doing things. There were still some kinks to work out, but EDI was confident that he would get the hang of things soon.

Her own efforts to understand the computer systems of this universe were going marvelously. She had learned that the most common form of electronic warfare here consisted of "jamming" signals designed to interfere with select systems on a target vessel. However, jamming in the traditional sense also existed. The merging of categories intrigued EDI.

But even better were the improvements she'd made with this universe's computer science. Using their research and programming knowledge, EDI had greatly improved the efficiency of many algorithms. Now she was developing viruses, firewalls, and intrusion countermeasures with input from the experts Odo recommended. One in particular intrigued her.

This person went by the handle 'Sh3rlockDix0n' – he was apparently a fan of detective literature. His responses set him apart from the rest of the experts. They were consistently faster than the rest, written at speeds beyond those any organic could write or vocalize. That meant he was an AI, probably in a humanoid chassis like her own. And if she could come to that conclusion, so could he. Neither had said anything about it, but EDI enjoyed conversing with another AI and mentioned its existence to the Geth on DS9. They already created a chat group to work on various projects together, along with formulating a proposal on how to improve Starfleet's cyber security.

Traynor walked in with two synthetics, distracting EDI. Traynor smiled at EDI and Joker, a datapad in her hand. "Morning, EDI, Joker."

"Good morniiiiiiing." Joker stared at the synthetics behind Traynor. One was Sophie, Shepard's mech dog that stayed in the cargo bay. The other was the Alliance Infiltration Unit, or AIU for short. EDI suddenly remembered that Joker was one of the few Normandy crewmembers that hadn't met it yet. EDI and the AIU shared a brief glance, then turned to Joker. He stared between them, mind as blank as his gaze..

Traynor, focused on her datapad, didn't notice what was going on. Sophie laid down at Traynor's feet as she began speaking. "The expert Starfleet called in is finally coming in today. Apparently, it took them a while to get a hold of him. Our liaison officer sent me his service record, and he's..."

Traynor's jaw dropped.. "Impossible! The things he's done, that he's seen? They're pretty crazy compared to our universe, _including_ the Normandy." Traynor looked up and saw Joker, EDI, and the AIU focused on her, pretending they hadn't been in an awkward staredown. It was quite unnerving. "A-Anyway, he's about to beam over. Would you like to meet him?"

"…I believe we'll leave that for later," EDI said carefully.

"Yes," AIU agreed, her voice just a touch more robotic. "There are discussions we must have."

"Indeed." Joker somehow matched the monotone timbre of the synthetics. "We will join you when we finish."

"Oh. O-Okay then." Traynor was a bit nonplussed. "Come on Sophie. Let's let the crazy people talk in private."

Traynor walked away as fast as she could.

"Okay. EDI, I know you and Shepard agreed to let the Alliance copy you, but this?"

"She is not a copy," EDI said. "A copy is an exact replica, with small deviations or flaws. In this case, she is derived from my software and hardware. A unique being that is similar to me."

The AIU smiled at that.

"So she's, what, your sister?" Joker blinked. "Oh god. This is the multiverse punishing me for my Extranet searches, isn't it? My dreams come true, but my pelvis gets turned to dust."

"I… have questions." The AIU sounded a bit lost, even with her robotic tone.. It was something in her eyes and the way she looked at EDI. "I have been learning ever since I came online Mostly about combat, but the other units of my squad encouraged me to pursue other avenues of study. I became curious about my existence. Why… I was made."

"Oh god," Joker groaned, "next comes the 'kill all humans' phase."

"No Jeff. I don't think so." EDI's smile widened as her light-speed fast mind came to a decision. "I believe I have some things to teach you, Alliance Infiltration Unit. Starting with what I have learned on the Normandy."

Joker held back a smile as EDI and the AIU settled in to get to know each other. It was kind of cute.

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Traynor stepped out of the elevator and on to the cargo bay. Her fellow Alliance personnel, the people Shepard like to call the "backbone" of the Normandy, stood next to one of the Kodiak shuttles, sans Cortez. Gabby laughed as she smacked Kenneth in the arm, while he faked a wince. Engineer Adams chuckled at their little display before he turned and spotted Traynor.

"You got here just in time," he said with a warm smile. "Their guy is on his way."

"About time too." Ken swas a bit annoyed. "We've been here for a while, watching them putt around like wee chicks while treating us like primitives."

Kenneth was exaggerating, but some ensigns used the Normandy's less advanced technology as an excuse to act condescending to her crew. The stigma faded after Gabby shattered the self-confidence of an ensign that made one too many smug "suggestions." Luckily, the older Starfleet personnel were much smarter and more willing to learn and teach whatever they could.

Gabby spoke up before Traynor could respond. "Looks like he's here."

The other three turned to see about a dozen Starfleet officers materialize a few meters in front of them. A heavyset man with gray hair parted to one side and small mustache appeared to be the leader. He sighed in relief and grinned as he made his way towards the group of Normandy crew members.

"Thank you laddies, I couldna stand another autograph session." Kenneth's jaw dropped as he heard the engineer's familiar accent. "Captain Montgomery Scott, at your service. I hear your lady needs some work."

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Two days later, the first joint mission by Starfleet and the Normandy's crew was over. It was the first step in a partnership that would benefit both sides in the coming months.

In the here and now, Sisko and Shepard were more than a bit disappointed. Worf, Jadzia, Ashley, and Garrus had taken the Defiant to the Badlands in search of the Maquis missiles. But the results were less than spectacular.

"So no luck finding the missiles huh?" Tali stood at her desk in what was now dubbed the Weapons Lab. Weapons, armor, and tech components from both universes cluttered the room.

"No," Shepard said on the viewscreen in front of her. "They searched as long as they could, but they didn't find anything. Sisko is trying to get information out of a Maquis prisoner–one of their commanders–but we have no idea if he even knows about the missiles."

"I don't get it," Tali said. "What's the problem with these missiles? They're targeting the enemy, right?"

Tali heard a familiar voice behind her. "It's a bit more complicated than that."

Tali and Shepard looked at Liara, who walked in with Barla Von and Bray.

"What do you mean?" Tali asked, confused.

"Right now, there's a cold war with the Dominion. There are a few border clashes here and there, but everyone is pretending that war isn't on the horizon, while building up their forces." Liara frowned. "In the meantime, the Dominion is putting considerable effort into convincing planets to sign treaties and non-aggression pacts with them."

"They're doing it with everyone but the Federation and Klingons," Bray growled. "It's an old Batarian trick. Pretend you're a peace loving nation, then turn on your opponent when you're ready." He smirked. "Never liked it much myself. That's why I worked with Aria. She knew how to really fight a war."

"Agreed." Barla sighed. "Ms. T'Soni and I are reviewing the information on the Dominion and their forces. Even with the Federation and Klingons' advanced weaponry, it doesn't look good. It'll take a miracle for them to win, unless we get them to radically rethink how they treat warfare."

Liara, Shepard, Tali, and Bray shared a smug look. "Well Shepard?" the Batarian asked sarcastically, "What do you think? You got a few more miracles in the tank?"

"If not, we've got Sisko." Shepard's smirk turned into a thoughtful look. "Send me the data when you can. These people are good with tech, but they aren't soldiers. I'd rather see them make the change without losing millions or billions of people. We know how to fight a losing war and we'll teach them how to win this one."

The group nodded as Shepard continued. "Tali, you said you've got some prototype weapons and armor set up?"

"Hmm? Well, yes, but we still aren't sure how they'll do. We were going to do another round of holosuite simulations today."

Shepard frowned, thinking to himself. After a moment, he said, "Get as many combat ready as you can. We may need them soon, and I'd like the Weapons Lab to have some real world data. We need to survive this war so we can finish the Reaper War. One other thing." Shepard looked at Liara. "Get all the information on the Crucible together. I want their scientists to look over it. They may–no, make that probably–have some insights we don't into the Crucible. If they can figure something out we can't–"

Liara nodded. "Understood, Shepard."

"Sisko should be finishing up soon. Barla, we'll talk about business whenI get back to the station. You have the contract?"

"Yes. I will look it over. I'll have a response by the end of the day." You could almost hear Barla Von smirking. "Should be interesting. If the Klingons are one of this universe's analogs to Krogans, I suppose the Ferengi are my species'."

"Not as good at fighting though," Tali chuckled.

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Shepard signed off in time to see Sisko walk away from the holding cell. He didn't look happy.

"Stubborn, huh?" Shepard asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Sisko smirked just a bit. "Though I've been told you've encountered your fair share of stubborn people. No, Eddington might need a more, well, _direct _approach."

Shepard nodded. "You know I'm coming with you? And a few of my people as well."

Sisko raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I'm going anywhere?"

"It's the next best bet we have," Shepard replied. "If Eddington won't talk, take him with you to the Badlands."

"Astute observation," Sisko said softly.

"I also think you might need some muscle. My men and I haven't been able to prove ourselves. I want to take this chance to show you what we can really do." Shepard grinned. "So you see, I'm doing this for purely selfish reasons."

Sisko chuckled. "Very well. My father once told me to never turn down a gift. I'll take you and two of your men. That should be enough for this mission."

"Usually is," Shepard said offhand.

"We'll leave as soon as security authorizes Eddington's release, then stop by DS9 to pick up your men." Sisko sighed. "Time to get to work."

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A couple of hours after Shepard's message, Ashley and Kormah were along in the Weapons Lab.

"I must say, your commander expects a lot out of you," Kormah said offhanded. He picked up a Jem'Hadar rifle recovered from the attack on the Normandy. He shouldered it, then passed it over to Ashley.  
>"He tends to." Ashley smiled just a bit. "That's nothing compared to how hard he pushes himself. He hides it, but Shepard puts a lot of hours into every detail of this war. He's probably combing over files every night, making sure he knows as much as possible about this universe and what we might encounter."<p>

Kormah nodded as Ashley shouldered the rifle and aimed at a test target on the other side of the room. "I see. He did not seem to be the studious type when I saw him. I suppose it wasn't long enough to properly judge him." He picked up a datapad and pressed a button. "Fire when ready."

Ashley let lose on a mannequin wearing what appeared to be standard Alliance Marine armor. A force field flared where the beam hit it. It eventually failed, and when it did, Ashley set the weapon down. Kormah sighed sadly upon seeing several scorch marks on the armor. "Well, it was too much to hope the shields would hold forever." His face brightened. "Still, they held for eight point three seconds longer than last time, and the armor's new layer held up marvelously."

"And…" Ashley waited. After a moment, shields flared into place around the armor, then shut off. "There we go. The first set of shields and the first armor mod are finally finished. All we can do now is keep testing them until Shepard gets here."

Kormah nodded. "I will try to install them on the four armors we prepared."

"Is Sisko's Omni-Tool ready?" Ashley asked.

"Yes." Tali walked in with two compacted guns. "It's a simple arm band for now, since subdermal implants are technically augmentations." Tali's eyes narrowed into a smile under her faceplate. "But it will work perfectly for his purposes."

She laid the guns down. One was an M7 Lancer, the basis for the Alliance standard issue M8 Avenger. The other was a Prothean Particle Rifle, whose internal mechanisms glowed green.

"We finished modifying these with heat sinks and dispersal systems based on your universe's tech," Tali told Kormah. "Your team and ours checked everything three times to make sure they're ready."

Ashley smiled as she picked up and unfolded the Lancer. "I really want to use this thing."

She spun around and opened fire on the armor. She didn't take her finger off the trigger for a very long time.

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	8. Chapter 8

Sisko was still getting used to the armor on his chest. A simple, tough, well made chest plate went over his standard uniform. It wasn't heavy, but it was tight in a few spots and didn't have the range of motion he was used to.

"I can't imagine how you'd move in a full suit," Sisko said to Shepard, who putting on his old N7 armor, one of the only ones with the new modifications.

"Believe it or not, it's pretty comfortable." Shepard grinned wryly. "That might be due to my life depending on it, though.."

"I imagine that would endear you to it." Sisko shifted a bit. "Still, this version is probably the one I'll commission for immediate service. Smaller pieces of armor, nothing that requires as much intensive training."

"I think that would be best," Shepard agreed.

_**"Shepard-Commander." **_Shepard and Sisko heard a deep, booming voice behind them. They turned to see an enormous red Geth with blue lights in its head come in and tower over them.

"Metatron," Shepard said politely. "Are you ready?"

**_"Yes Shepard-Commander. Creator-Tali'Zorah installed the new shield unit, and my chassis has been upgraded with materials that can withstand disruptor fire. I am fully armed for combat."_**

"Perfect. Head to the runabout. We'll join you soon." Shepard and Sisko watched as Metatron nodded and walked off, his heavy footsteps booming as he lumbered along."An odd choice," Sisko noted, "considering the fact that stealth might what the mission needs."

"I know. That's why my other choice is-"

"Me." Shepard and Sisko heard Zaeed Massani's distinct British accent as he walked in. "Of course, half the reason I'm coming along is because Shepard knows I'm bored out of my goddamn mind. Even the booze in the bar is shit. I need a fucking fight or two."

Sisko gave Shepard a look as Zaeed followed the Geth Prime, grumbling all the while.

"Yeah, I know." Shepard sighed. "But his armor got retrofitted in seconds. And despite what you think, he is a professional. He's one of the best soldiers in the galaxy, and he'll have our backs in the end."

"I have no doubt of that." Sisko shook his head as he and Shepard made their way to the runabout. "I'm just not sure if I can stand being in a small space with man like him for that long."

As they stepped aboard, they heard a voice.

"Well," Michael Eddington smiled as he turned his chair to face them. "Ready for our little excursion, are we? I must say, Captain, I love your new vest."

Sisko scowled as settled into the pilot's seat. "On the other hand, I may just learn to like Mr. Massani."

Shepard chuckled.

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Finally, they were off. Four people trying to stop the missiles and avert a war they weren't ready for. Zaeed, Sisko, and Shepard were in the front of the runabout, with Eddington shoved in the back. Zaeed leaned by the door connecting both sections, having barely escaped Eddington's speech about how terrible replicated food was.

"I'll be honest Shepard," Zaeed growled. "I'm going to kill that man if he keeps talking. If I do, I expect a reward."

"Noted." Shepard smirked. "Head into the back with Metatron. Tell him some stories."

"What, about all the times I killed things that looked just like him?" Zaeed scoffed. "Yeah, all right. Could be interesting."

Zaeed headed back and passed by Eddington. The balding man smiled inanely and sat down next to Shepard.

"I must admit, Commander, you keep very strange company," he said pleasantly to Shepard. "A robot and a man who must have done some strange thing to get those scars."

"Sure," Shepard said, checking over the Prothean rifle in his hand.

"And of course there's Sisko here." Sisko arched an eyebrow, clearly intrigued with where Eddington was going with this. "Have you known the good captain long?"

"…about a week," Shepard admitted. The rifle in his hand cycled between its compact form and its combat mode. Shepard checked it over again.

"Really? And how much do you know about him?"

"Eddington…" Sisko warned. It was clear that the Maquis leader was trying to drive a wedge between Shepard and Sisko.

"Oh, what's the matter Benjamin?" Eddington said condescendingly. "Can't stand to have your new friend hear about how far you went to capture me?"

"I'm sorry?" Shepard looked up, finally paying attention.

"You didn't hear?" Eddington grinned. "Our dear captain, enraged at the thought of my betrayal, simply could not let the thought of me living in peace go. So he poisoned the atmosphere of a Maquis planet. Thousands of people, humans like him, displaced from their homes and lives, because he could not stand the thought of giving me up."

"You were doing the same to Cardassian planets," Sisko reminded him.

"Our enemy!" Eddington said, pain entering his voice. "You can't use that excuse, not when the Federation and its people are at _war _with the Cardassians and the Dominion. You brought my plans to a stalemate, before we would have taken more from the Cardassians than they'd ever had."

"You see, Commander, this is the man you've allied yourself with." Eddington took Shepard's silence as a sign he was listening. "A man willing to sacrifice entire planets for the sake of catching one man. He poisoned one, and was going to poison many more, all for me."

It was quiet in the runabout's cockpit. Sisko did not look at Shepard, having already caught a glimpse of his face. When Shepard finally spoke, it was in a sad monotone.

"Three hundred four thousand, nine hundred and forty-two."

"I'm sorry?" Eddington said, startled by the random number.

"It's the number of people who used to live in a system known as Balak, back in my universe." Shepard finally put the Prothean rifle on his back, apparently satisfied with it. "Keep in mind, that's the number of sapient lives. I have no idea if it counts small animals. Hell, the odds are a couple of babies were born right around the time that number was decided."

Shepard turned his chair slowly, giving Eddington a humorless smile. "I tried to warn them, to find some way to let them escape. But in the end, I had no choice. The Reapers were coming. Monsters so far beyond us that we needed every moment we could get just to survive. No one believed me when I warned them about those things. And in the end, I had no choice. The Balak system was going to be their point of entry to the rest of the galaxy."

Shepard leaned forward. "I destroyed the entire system. I pressed a button and sacrificed 304,942 lives to buy time. I destroyed five planets, turning them into dust, and killed innocent men, woman, and children, and I wasn't even sure it would work."

Eddington and Sisko stared at Shepard as he rose from his seat. "Don't come to me for sympathy Mr. Eddington. You play hero, living in your own little novel, and try to force others into the roles you think they fit. But a hero is not a showboating _child_. It's something far more primal. Every choice determines who lives and who dies. That is war, Mr. Eddington. Your arrest stopped the Cardassians from joining the Dominion that much sooner, and saved lives. And if you think 'revenge' was the only reason why Sisko captured you, you're a more arrogant ass than I thought. I don't like sacrificing planets. But in the same situation, with the same choice, knowing what I know?"

Shepard leaned in. Behind his brown eyes, a hint of bright red light glowed, like a fire deep within him. "A planet is nothing compared to the future of civilization itself. So yes, I would avoid that choice if I could. Save everyone possible. But only if I have that choice. So yes. I feel for the Maquis. And if I could save them, I would. But right now, that doesn't matter. There are no Maquis to save. Just missiles to stop. So stop trying to goad me into some sort of fight with Sisko, and shut the hell up."

Shepard walked away, leaving Eddington speechless and enraged. Sisko could barely held back a sigh of relief when he realized Eddington was finally quiet.

"So here we are, Benjamin. Two men willing to destroy planets, leading a mission to save one. One belonging to their enemy, no less."

Sisko groaned. It was going to be a long flight.

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Nog lay on the floor of Quark's bar. Not the most auspicious place to be. Nonetheless, he lay there, looking up at the ceiling. It was a rather ugly ceiling, Nog thought, but better than getting up.

Suddenly, his view was obstructed by muscles. James Vega leaned over the young Ferengi, frowning. "How long has he been here?"

"An hour," Jake said as he came into Nog's view.

"You have to admire his dedication," Ashley quipped as she came in next, giving Nog a smile.

"Get up kid," Grunt growled, his enormous face coming into view. "We got work to do."

"What?" Nog asked, confused.

"You wanted to stand up to the Klingons." Wrex leaned down over Nog. The four soldiers from another universe smiled like wolves staring at meat. "Time to toughen you up."

"…Meep," Nog squealed weakly.

Jake watched the gruff Normandy soldiers drag Nog to a holosuite with a hint of dread. "Suddenly I'm thinking this was a bad idea."

"He'll be all right." Garrus clasped Jake's shoulder. He'd been the first person Jake found after Nog fell to the floor. "They're going to train him a bit, that's all. Think of it this way. After this, there is no way a Klingon will ever scare him again."

That did little to comfort Jake.

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The first thing Zaeed heard when he entered the cockpit was, "Those are Jem'Hadar warships, all right. That's a big problem."

"Well shit," Zaeed growled.

"What?" Shepard had followed Zaeed from the rear cabin.

"It seems two Jem'Hadar ships are heading towards us." Eddington was jovial. "You have a problem."

Shepard and Zaeed glanced at each other. "Uh… shouldn't we run?"

"Yes, Captain, it might be best if you take us away." Eddington smirked. "After all, it would be bad form for you to kill our guests."

Sisko watched the Jem'Hadar ships approach. After a moment, he rose from his seat.

"Well, I really can't, unfortunately." He stepped over and undid Eddington's cuffs. "But you can."

The three men stared at Sisko as he headed towards the replicator.

"What are you doing?" Eddington asked, dumbfounded.

"Getting a Raktijino. Shepard, Mr. Massani, do you want some?"

"Uh… sure?" Shepard was still trying to understand what was going on.

"None for me, thanks," Zaeed growled, looking as calm as Sisko was.

"Are you all insane?" Eddinton's face was a mask of shock. "They're almost here!"

"Here you go Shepard." Sisko smiled as he handed Shepard a cup. "Despite Eddington's complaints about the food, the replicators make excellent Klingon coffee."

"Klingon, huh?" Shepard asked, swishing it around.

"Oh yes. Dax got me hooked on it, though I was thinking about cutting back." Sisko smirked. "Oh, and the Jem'Hadar should be in firing range soon."

"A nice try, Captain," Eddington said, realizing what Sisko was doing. He smiled just a bit. "But there are other people on board. I'm quite sure one of you gentlemen-"

"Are you bloody kidding?" Zaeed grinned. "I can't pilot one of these fucking things. I don't even know what the buttons do."

Eddington turned to Shepard.

"Yeah, I have enough trouble with driving back home." Shepard shook his head. "You don't want me even touching the panels."

"Well, what about," Eddington, Shepard, Zaeed, and Sisko all turned to look at the Geth Prime in the room. He stared back at them, having entered the compartment a second before.

**_"This unit is still learning the basics. Apologies."_**

"Damn it Sisko, what are you doing?" Eddington said in exasperation, as Sisko relaxed in his chair.

"Simply testing you." Sisko said with a smile. "See, you claimed to have a death wish in your cell. I'm betting that's a lie. Furthermore, I'm betting you aren't willing to let those missiles hit, or let three men die because of your stubbornness."

"I'll take those odds," Zaeed said with a slow smile.

**_"As will I." _**Metatron agreed.

"Clock's ticking, Mr. Eddington." Shepard sat next to Sisko. The two men stared at Eddington, drinking their Raktijino peacefully.

Eddington cursed under his breath after being under their gaze for a moment. He slipped behind the console and hit some buttons. The ship shuddered a moment before stabilizing.

"Can you lose them?" Sisko asked.

Eddington cocked his head to the side, annoyed. "I've plotted a spiral course around a plasma filament. It should dissipate our warp signature."

"Godamnnit, I swear you people make this shit up," Zaeed growled. He walked towards the back. "Wake me up when it gets interesting again."

"Hmm." Eddington stared at Zaeed before turning to Sisko. "Well, it appears you can take the helm now."

Sisko looked at him for a moment. Then he shook his head, sitting down. "No, I think I'll let you handle things for now."

Eddington turned, finally losing his temper. "All right, Sisko. I'll help your little band of merry men and a robot find the missiles. But when we stop them, you and I will finish this. Once and for all."

"You want to fight." It was a statement, not a question.. The tension in the room rose as Shepard and Metatron stared at Eddington and Sisko.

"No. I intend to kill you." Eddington smiled. "If your new friends don't interfere."

"…Tell you what." Shepard smiled. "Give it a shot. And I'll take bets. Metatron, what do you think odds are on Sisko."

**_"…Favorable."_**

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The Jem'Hadar ships returned about an hour later. Eddington suggested an insane plan, one that required Sisko to do some dangerous work.

At least, Shepard though it did. He barely followed what they were saying. But Metatron apparently understood things just fine.

**_"Sisko-Captain. I can assist."_**

Sisko looked at the huge robot in surprise. "You can? I thought you didn't understand the systems."

**_"Incorrect. This unit is only capable of basic maintenance, due to lessons provided by the Agnate-Synthetic. This does not mean I do not understand the systems at all."_**

"Who?" Eddington asked.

"EDI," Shepard said, knowing full well Eddington would be even more confused. "You can do this?"

**_"I cannot fit inside the Jefferies tube," _**Metatron admitted. "**_However, I can interface with the ship and use the sensors to avoid unforeseen problems."_**

"That could be helpful," Shepard noted. "I'll go with you, see if I can help as well."

Sisko nodded. He and Shepard headed to a Jefferies tube in the rear compartment. Eddington looked a bit lost at Metatron.

"Well… do your thing I suppose."

**_"Acknowledged." _**

Zaeed walked in as they worked, cocking an eyebrow at the sight of Metatron standing behind the cockpit's aft console.  
><strong><em><br>"Gas pocket approaching. Move left by thirty meters," _**Metatron warned.

"Got it!" Eddington slid the runabout sideways.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Zaeed asked.

**_"Enemy ship is firing! Rise upwards six meters!"_**

"Hold on!"

Zaeed had just enough time to glare at Eddington before the ship shook and sent him to the floor. "What in the bloody fuck-!"

_"What the hell, Eddington!?" _Shepard's voice came in through the comm. system.

"We're being shot at!"

_"Well then," _Sisko said, his voice determined. _"Fire!"_

Eddington nodded, pressing controls quickly. A sudden explosion lanced out behind them, shaking the runabout like a coin in a glass bottle.

"Fucking Krogan testicles!" Zaeed roared as he bounced around and slammed into several bulkheads, his shields flaring with every blow.

When the commotion finally stopped, Zaeed slowly got up. His face was pale.

"I still don't understand what the fuck just happened," he said weakly.

"We found a worse pilot than me," Shepard growled as he followed Sisko back into the cockpit. He and Sisko looked fine, though their grimaces showed they didn't feel that way. Their shields snapped on, indicating that the only thing that kept them from getting more hurt was that they had been wearing their armor.

"Well, seems all things went well, didn't they?" Eddington chirped, smiling at them.

Even Metatron glared at him.

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"I don't understand." Nog sat on the ground, panting and leaning back on his hands. "What does this have to do with confronting the Klingons?"

Ashley grinned at him while crouching behind a wall, her old Avenger assault rifle in hand. "You need to put things in perspective. Get used to things that are _really_ scary."

Nog was about to respond when someone flipped over the wall they were using as cover. His eyes widened as he aimed quickly.

"Ninja Bitch!" He yelled, using the name the Multipliers had told him applied to this enemy. He fired his pistol wildly, getting to his feet and staying close to the ground. The Cerberus Phantom's barrier deflected his shots as she came at him. Harsh red eyes tracked him carefully as she brought her sword to bear.

Then Grunt slammed into the Phantom's side like a tsunami. He laughed as he lifted a leg high and stomped on the fallen Phantom's head, spraying blood everywhere. Grunt grinned at Nog as the Ferengi stared at him in shock.

"Good instincts. Never turn your back on a superior opponent," Grunt growled.

"I can't believe you made a holoprogram with these guys!" Vega shouted in glee as he blew a Centurion's head off.

"It was a favor from Kormah!" Ashley called back with a grin. "Just wait! The Collectors are coming!"

"Somebody help me," Nog whimpered as the squad of lunatics led him into hell.

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"Not the most scenic place I've ever been," Zaeed noted as they walked through the Maquis base, which was literally a set of caves.

"Well, I apologize for the Maquis not living up to your high expectations for secret bases."

Zaeed chuckled. "I know you think you're kidding, but well…"

"I give it a four," Shepard said. "I mean it's clever, but the actual layout isn't too slick."

"Ah Shepard, you've got have more love for the classics," Zaeed said as they turned a corner. "This place is at least a six."

Eddington sighed, annoyed, while Sisko tried not to laugh. Then they heard a sound.

The group stopped when they saw two Jem'Hadar. "Shit! Down!"

Everyone but Metatron dove behind some barrels. The Geth Prime was too large to do anything but stand there. The Jem'Hadar spotted an easy target and immediately fired on him.

Metatron's shields flared under the assault. To the Jem'Hadar's credit, they didn't stop firing at the obvious threat. Then Metatron lifted a hand up and a large floating shield popped into existence, forming a wall of energy.

**_"Prototype Hex Shield engaged. Working at optimum efficiency."_**

"That's the other reason I brought him," Shepard said with a grin. "Zaeed, grenades!"

"On it!" The British soldier threw out several grenades, grinning when they landed behind the Jem'Hadar. The genetically engineered soldiers moved away, avoiding the grenades and the shrapnel they produced.

"Shepard!" Sisko called.

"I'm there!" Shepard called out, quickly getting to his feet. He focused on a Jem'Hadar and blasted forward on a biotic charge, passing through objects like a high speed ghost before slamming into the target. The other turned and pulled his rifle up before Sisko shot him three times in the chest. Sisko smiled as each shot landed exactly where he wanted it to.

That was the secondary effect of his omni-tool. Tali, having noted Sisko's aptitude with weapons, had given the Captain the marksman ability. When combined with his phaser natural eye-tracking tech, it allowed Sisko to make shots with incredible speed and accuracy. It didn't work as well with the Jem'Hadar disrupters, but Sisko hadn't missed a shot yet with his phaser. Apparently he would need the advantage.

Shepard finished off his target, cryo-rounds freezing the Jem'Hadar before it shattered into pieces.

"Clear!" Shepard called after a moment. The others came forward.

"Well, that was a slaughter," Eddington noted, kicking away a frozen piece of Jem'Hadar.

"For now, at least," Shepard replied grimly. "But they didn't know about our abilities. We have a temporary tactical advantage."

"I thought you said they would never find this place?" Sisko asked Eddington.

"I never thought they would," Eddington was obviously worried. "They must be trying to clean up what's left of the Maquis."

"Then we have two problems." Shepard picked up a disruptor and tossed it to Eddington, placing the other on the magnetic holder on his back.

"Right." Eddington nodded to the bodies. "Let's get these bodies into the well. Don't want any other Jem'Hadar looking for the men who killed their friends."

The bodies were dumped down the well before the group advanced. They were more alert, taking extra time to clear each corner and potential choke point.

Shepard saw the first body. They crept towards it, only for Eddington to break rank and rush forward after getting a better look.

"No…" he said sadly.

Shepard walked forward, his mood darkening as he saw more bodies. He stepped into a hallway and froze.

It was full of dead people. Human, Vulcan, Bajoran, Trill, young, old, male, female. All killed by the Jem'Hadar, some bruised and blemished when the large aliens walked over the bodies.

"Damn it," Zaeed growled. "They killed them like animals."

"This wasn't supposed to happen." Eddington's voice was full of pain. "We were doing so much good work. The Cardassians were falling apart! We were going to become an independent nation!"

"Eddington, this-" Sisko stopped when Shepard raised a hand.

Shepard leaned in and whispered, "He doesn't need any reminders about the mission. There is something else going on here."

"It doesn't matter," Sisko said decisively. "We need to get those missiles."

"That's all you care about!?" Sisko and Shepard turned to see Eddington get up, surrounded by the bodies of his friends. "The mission?"

"If we don't complete the mission, this will just be the _beginning_. Atrocities like this happen across the entire Alpha Quadrant!" Sisko reminded him. "We need to stop the missiles!"

"Don't you people understand?" Eddington growled. "I was supposed to-"

"To do what?" Shepard asked. "Predict the future? How could you have known things would turn out like this?"

"I could have done something!" Eddington shouted.

"You were in a prison cell!" Shepard yelled back. "This isn't your fault! The Jem'Hadar killed them, and they want to kill even more people! You can prevent that now!" Shepard stood tall, looking Eddington in the eyes. "Just continue the mission. We need to stop the Jem'Hadar. You know that."

Eddington stared at Shepard, then Sisko. After a long moment, he stepped around them. "This way."

Sisko raised an eyebrow at Shepard as Eddington went down a hallway. "I thought he'd end up pointing a gun at us."

"If he did..." Shepard nodded towards Metatron, who had his particle rifle at the ready.

"Hmm," Sisko said softly.

"Goddamn this tea party shit," Zaeed cursed. "I want some fighting damn it."

It took some time to get to the next section. Eddington ducked behind some crates when they arrived.

"Over there," he whispered. "Come on."

Sisko put a hand on Eddington's shoulder, then nodded at Shepard. He stepped out and unleashed a shockwave. The pulse of biotic power swept across the room, flinging objects and two Jem'Hadar around. The moment they hit a wall, the team opened fire.

Shepard cleared the room as the tattered bodies slid down the wall, then nodded at the door. "Get it open, Eddington."

"Right." Eddington pressed some buttons, only for the panel to beep angrily. Sisko was about to shoot it, but Eddington stopped him. "Wait! Let's try something else."

This time Eddington's button pushing worked. The door slid open and they stepped inside. Metatron followed with his usual clanking footsteps.

Zaeed blinked and scowled. "I fucking hate this mission."

They were staring at a small group of Maquis. Hope appeared on their faces when they saw Eddington.

"Micheal," a woman said in relief.

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"Your wife," Shepard deadpanned. "Of course she is."

Eddington was happier than they'd seen so far as he walked up to them. "Well, shall we go?"

"What about the missiles?" Sisko asked.

"Please," Eddington replied bluntly. "Does this look like a launch base, Captain?"

"I swear, I'm about to kill you out of principle," Zaeed growled.

"There never were any missiles," Rebecca, Eddington's wife, stared at Zaeed nervously. The mercenary hadn't relaxed his grip on his Lancer. "No retaliatory strike on Cardassia. It was all a ploy, a way to let Micheal know we'd made it here."

"Zaeed," Shepard said.

"Right." The older man punched Eddington in the face.

Eddington gasped, clutching his jaw as he spit out a bit of blood.

"Thank you."

"My goddamn pleasure," Zaeed growled.

"I wanted to do that," Sisko shook his head sadly.

"By all means," Zaeed offered. Sisko seemed to consider it while Eddington got up.

Eddington wiped the blood from his lips, wincing. "If it helps, think of this. At least there are no missiles. So no Dominion retaliation to worry about."

Eddington glared at Zaeed, but kept calm while looking at Metatron. The Geth stared back, a deadly reminder that any retaliation would be met with force.

Sisko sighed. "Let's get these people out of here."

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"It's a good thing you convinced me to bring you along," Sisko noted as the large group moved through the hallways.

"Oh, I'm sure you would have been fine." Shepard grinned. "You seem like you can handle yourself."

"Maybe. But having some extra help is never a bad thing," Sisko replied with a smile of his own.

Sisko, Shepard, and Zaeed took point, while Eddington stuck with the Maquis. Metatron guarded the rear due to his slow gait and bulk.

Metatron's positioning in the group saved Eddington's life. While Eddington displayed boundless optimism by claiming his group would not go to jail, a Jem'Hadar soldier came out of a side passage they had passed and cleared. Having mistaken Metatron for a harmless work robot, the Jem'Hadar took a shot at a random Maquis, only to have Metatron block the beam with his shields.

**_"Enemy Detected."_** Metatron snapped open his Hex Shield to defend the entire group as the rest of the Jem'Hadar squad appeared and opened fire. Another Jem'Hadar charged through the shield, wincing as electricity coursed through his body, and aimed at Metatron.

Metatron released a burst of energy from his body, staggering the enemy soldier. The Geth Prime followed up with an arcing energy field from his hand, holding the convulsing Jem'Hadar in the air until he died.

Zaeed threw an inferno grenade as the dead Jem'Hadar dropped to the ground, while Shepard followed up with a biotic flare. The flaming fragments and biotic energy forced the Jem'Hadar back, allowing Metaron to rejoin the group. The Geth Juggernaut quickly proved to be as much a terror on these new battle fields as he was in his own universe. He tore his enemies apart with calculating power, using a careful combination of his natural powers and the advantage of his ability to absorb power from the tech of his enemies to both stay alive and kill them under a combination of his powers and particle rifle, turning Jem'Hadar into pools of green goop.

"Get going!" Eddington shouted to the other Maquis. "Don't stop until you get to the runabout!"

"That includes you," Shepard told him when the man seemed ready to say the same to Shepard. Shepard cut off Eddington before he could argue. "Go! Your people need you. The rest of us will cover their retreat."

Sisko smiled when Eddington looked at him. "He told you before. Save as many lives as possible."

Eddington stared at him for a moment, then nodded. Shepard rolled his eyes at how reluctant the man seemed to avoid sacrificing his life. "Seems like a good time for a song. Something rousing."

Shepard grinned. "Hey, Sisko. You know Kasumi gave you a playlist on your omni-tool, right?"

Sisko frowned, activating his omni-tool. Eddington stared at the hologram around Sisko's arm as he scrolled through a list of songs. Sisko stopped at one, grinning. "You'll love this, Eddington."

Eddington grinned as 'Fortunate Son' echoed through the air, mixing with the sound of Jem'Hadar rifle discharges. "That's perfect, actually."

"Good." Sisko stood up, keeping his poise as a shot grazed him and weakened his shields. He raised the omni-tool once more and moved his hand the way Tali had shown him. A small orb flew out, shining blue as it slammed into a Jem'Hadar. The man froze into a statue, shattering when Zaeed followed up with his Lancer. Sisko waited for a bit, shooting his phaser, then launched another orb, this one hitting one of Metatron's targets long enough for the enormous Geth to grab him in another arcing energy field.

"Shepard, we need to push them back again!"

"Metatron! When we get some room, drop a turret!" Shepard shouted. The Council SPectre pulled his arm back and launched a wave of biotic energy out, aiming around the Geth.

**_"Understood." _**Shepard's shockwave tossed the Jem'Hadar back before a small canister landed in front of them. It levitated, turning into a floating robot that unleashed plasma fire on the Jem'Hadar. The alien soldiers focused on the new threat, allowing Zaeed to decimate their ranks with his last grenade. Sisko took out three Jem'Hadar with pinpoint accurate shots, adding to the growing pile of Jem'Hadar bodies.

Zaeed let loose a few more times with his Lancer, crowing as he riddled more soldiers with mass accelerator rounds. "Reminds me of Jessie!"

The group began a steady retreat into the tunnels. Metatron opened up a Hex Shield and dropped a turret every few feet to cover the Maquis refugees. Sisko made good use of his new omni-tool, freezing Jem'Hadar in place to be killed. At one point Sisko was forced into hand to hand combat.

A Jem'Hadar managed to get around Metatron and swung his blade at Sisko's head. The man ducked, and quickly swung his arm back. His omni-tool, reading the motion, snapped on and slid out a long blade of silicone-carbide. He slammed it into the surprised Jem'Hadar's chest, killing him with a red-hot blade through the heart. Sisko smiled grimly as he pulled the blade back out, raising the rifle in his hand to keep fighting.

_We really need to get omni-tools into production. Soon._ He thought to himself. He punctuated the thought with another cryo orb, this one freezing a Jem'Hadars arm before he could fire his weapon. Sisko followed up with a phaser bolt to the alien's eye, killing him instantly.

As the song on Sisko's omni-tool ended, Shepard and Metatron walked into the cockpit, following everyone else. A final explosion sounded out before Sisko lifted the ship up into the air.

Eddington stared at his fellow Maquis, then Sisko and the others. Then he patted his shirt and blinked. "I… we're alive."

"Is that a bad thing?" Shepard asked as Sisko directed the ship towards DS9.

"No, I just… it's unexpected." Eddington was shocked beyond all reason.

"Boy, aren't you a party animal," Zaeed growled. He grinned after a moment. "Still, we got a damn good fight in the end there. Well worth the trip."

"Maybe not." Shepard noted. "A lot of the Jem'Hadar survivors saw what we can do. They'll be trying to level the playing field next time."

"Who gives a shit?" Zaeed grunted. "Let the bastards come."

Sisko, Eddington, Rebecca, and Shepard shared a look.

"You might get your wish Mr. Massani," Sisko said quietly. He smiled. "Until then, we've won the day. Let's enjoy the moment, shall we."

"Amen." Shepard groaned, laying back to rest in his chair.

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Meanwhile, the surviving Jem'Hadar were beaming aboard their ships and reporting to their Vorta. And those Vorta were passing the Jem'Hadar's information further up the chain of command.

There was only one conclusion. They had underestimated the combat abilities of the Alpha Quadrant's soldiers.

0000000000000000000000000000000000AuthorsNote000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Things of note:  
>Nog's new buddies<br>Sisko's new Omni-Tool  
>The current survival of Eddington and who even cares about it<br>What it means now that the Dominion has a taste of Shepard and his crew, as well as Sisko's new abilities  
>And the fact Zaeed finally got to kill something (The man was bored as hell)<p>

Next chapter, the war effort gets put into overdrive, and the weapons team prepares for war. As well, the difference between Scotch and Bourbon are discussed by men who know what they're talking about.


	9. Chapter 9 Part One

"So what happens to Maquis now?" Garrus asked, his mandibles moving as he spoke. He was in Shepard's quarters, sitting at the table with Jadzia, Shepard, and Sisko, drinks in hand. Sisko sipped his Raktijino before speaking.

"The ones we rescued are being treated as refugees. It's possible that the Cardassian government might pursue extradition for past crimes, but the current cold war makes that unlikely." Sisko smiled. "They'll be able to continue their lives, in exchange for some information."

"I take it Eddington isn't getting the same deal?" Jadzia asked.

Shepard chuckled as Sisko shook his head. "No. At least, not yet. He's still a prisoner. However, saving him and his people has made him less stubborn. He's agreed to give us his knowledge of the Badlands."

Garrus blinked. "That's… valuable?"

"It's priceless," Jadzia said in surprise. "The Maquis roamed the Badlands for years, using its instabilities to avoid Cardassian patrols and attacks. If Eddington shares that knowledge, we'll be able to keep it out of Dominion hands for a while."

"How useful could it be?" Garrus's keen mind worked the problem over. "The Maquis were torn apart, even with that knowledge."

"The resident badasses of the galaxy tore the Maquis apart over several months, forcing them into a corner." Shepard said. "Knowledge on the Badlands makes it a better fallback position for us, since we've got the resources of the Federation behind us."

"You want to make a base in the Badlands?" Sisko was curious now.

"I'm not sure," Shepard admitted. "I need to think about that. Regardless, that information will be valuable."

"Extremely. Which makes me wonder if we can trust Eddington," Jadzia said.

"I think we can." Sisko stood up and walked over to the window of Shepard's quarters. The station slowly rotated to bring the wormhole into view. It opened in a flash so a Federation Sabre class starship could enter. Sisko watched it for a moment, while the others waited.

"Eddington will help us for the most basic thing in existence." Sisko turned towards them. "Revenge. The Jem'Hadar ruthlessly slaughtered the Maquis. His friends are dead, except for the survivors we rescued. And the only people who've stopped the Jem'Hadar in their tracks are telling him that he can do some damage, even from a prison cell."

"Appealing to his sense of heroism helped," Shepard was a bit annoyed.

"You don't find it a bit romantic?" Jadzia asked with a slow smile. "Turning yourself in for the one chance to punish the people who hurt your friends?"

"Oh, I think it's very heroic," Shepard said. "But the reason you do something can be just as important as what you do. I don't like Eddington or his motivations. In his mind, he's like a fictional hero, fighting for peace and justice. I don't doubt that he's angry about his friends dying. But that just makes it worse. He's living in a hero fantasy, and he's obsessed with revenge. He cares more about the fantasy world he's created than helping people or saving lives."

"I seem to remember you being called a hero a few times." Garrus's mandibles lifted in a Turian smirk.

"N-Not on purpose!" Shepard protested. "I'm just a soldier. The brass are the ones who-"

"You realize I've seen you take down giant monsters with your bare hands," Garrus continued. Jadzia and Sisko watched in amusement.

"Because I had to." Shepard stopped talking for a bit, thinking. He was solemn when he continued. "I worry about that sometimes. That I might start helping people more for the fame and glory, than the simple sake of helping people."

"Well then, you don't have to worry about it." Jadzia smiled at Shepard's expression. "In all my lives, the first step in becoming something bad is never worrying about it at all." She nodded towards Sisko. "Ask the Emissary here."

Shepard and Garrus turned to Sisko, who smiled awkwardly. "I do worry about the same thing at times. That I'll let my role as the Emissary go too far. That one day people will bow down to me and I'll see no reason to tell them not to." Sisko sighed. "All I can do is try my best to balance my responsibilities as Emissary with my duties as a Starfleet captain. It helps that the old man is here to remind me that I'm still mortal."

Jadzia laughed. "It's easier these days. I remember when you were a daredevil of an ensign with a chip on your shoulder."

"Now that sounds familiar," Shepard cast a glance at Garrus.

"Okay, if you want to talk about familiar…"

They sat together for a few hours, enjoying each other's company. But one problem was still on the table. The Dominion had seen members of the Normandy crew in action. Tomorrow, the status quo was going back to the drawing board.

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One of the first things Captain Montgomery Scott told the Normandy Crew was, "Call me Scotty. None of this 'Captain' nonsense, as if I wanted to be more than an engineer!"

Adams liked him immediately. Gabby was taking her time to decide. And Kenneth, a day and a half later, came to his own conclusion.

The man was the father he always wanted.

Down in Jack's Hidey Hole, Kenneth, Scotty, and Gabby took a break from taking detailed scans of the ship's conduits. A break long enough for Kenneth to share an important observation with the older man. Scotty nodded, while Kenneth looked earnestly at him. "I agree laddie. You can't trust a man who doesn't drink a good scotch."

"I told you!" Kenneth said with a grin, turning to Gabby.

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Damn it Kenneth, you can't hate a man based purely on what he drinks. Hell, Shepard doesn't drink at all!"

"Well, I never said I don't trust a man who doesn't drink, just one who doesn't know what to drink," Kenneth protested.

Scotty laughed, turning to go upstairs while the couple kept bickering. He smiled as he met Adams and Traynor up top.

"You have a good team here lad," he complimented Adams.

"Well, I can't take credit for that," Adams replied with a slow chuckle. "Shepard actually brought them on."

"Oh?" Scotty raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to meet him then. Seems the man's got an eye for talent."

"That's for sure," Traynor said with a smile.

Scotty turned to her. "Well lass, I think I've seen all I need. You said you had some ideas for upgrading the ship?"

"Yes." Traynor took a datapad she had under her arm and passed it to Scotty. He paged through it, raising his eyebrow as Traynor spoke. "A few of us came up with a design for the new wings. We worked on them with some of the scientists and engineers on DS9."

"I should've gotten these before I came here," Scotty noted.

"Yes. We did send them to you, but if they didn't get to you-"

"Someone must've got sloppy," the Scottish engineer said, lowering the datapad. "Yer wing designs are solid and the antimatter generator you want will give you a huge boost in range, plus fuel for the runabout warp cores to power yer new weapons and shields. A replicator and transporter shouldna be a problem either–I'll need a handful of people at most to install them. And for the internal systems, it's all about maximizing yer available space. The ASDB designs are good, but I know someone who can improve them—a friend of mine, actually."

"Let's get started then." Adams clasped his hands in anticipation. "Traynor, get EDI and AUI. I'll get our tech specialists together in the hanger bay. Time to get to work, people!"

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Meanwhile, EDI watched Joker swear violently as he once again failed a simulation in the holosuite. It was an older program that he had just found a few minutes earlier. After three failures, Joker was already losing his temper, something he rarely did.

EDI sent a message to Sh3rlockDix0n out of curiosity.

C0medyF4n: What is the Kobiyashi Maru?

Sh3lockDix0n: It is a Starfleet training scenario used to demonstrate a situation where winning is impossible. Cadets are placed in command of a simulated starship that receives a distress call from a civilian ship, called the Kobiyashi Maru in the first iteration, that has drifted into disputed territory along the border of a hostile power. Their decisions and performance help judge whether or not they are suited for immediate placement in Starfleet's command division.

EDI thought for a moment before responding.

C0medyF4n: Has anyone beaten it?

Sh3rlockDix0n: To my knowledge, no one has beaten the Kobayashi Maru without cheating. Why?

EDI didn't respond. The holodeck cameras showed Joker sitting silently, simply thinking to himself in the inert room. A moment later, he set his shoulders.

"Computer, bring up the Kobayashi Maru. The ship, not the scenario." Joker was on the Kobayashi Maru's bridge in an instant. He looked around, then got on his feet, wincing. "Let's see what I've got to work with."

EDI nodded, activating her group chat link to AUI, the Geth, and Sh3lockDix0n. Congratulations were in order.

C0medyF4n: I heard you finished your mission, First2Spe4k. Was it informative?

First2Spe4k: Yes Agnate-Synthetic. All systems functioned at maximum efficiency. All records were sent to Creator-Tali'Zorah, and results are anticipated soon.

Sh3lockDix0n: Have you obtained new information on the Jem'Hadar?

First2Spe4k: Yes Congruent-Synthetic. Battle records are being transferred now.

EDI felt information flow into her databanks. She only needed microseconds to process the files. She smiled at the familiar sight of Shepard charging across the battlefield like a comet, with Zaeed backing him up. Less familiar was Sisko aiming a phaser at a Jem'Hadar about to open fire on Metatron, while the Geth Prime fried another Jem'Hadar in an arcing energy field.

Child0fBattle: I suggest we act as Liara's intelligence gathering and analysis network. She would appreciate our insights.

EDI took a moment to ponder AUI's pseudonym before responding, used to the seemingly random trains of thought that a conversation with AI could lead to.

C0medyF4n: Liara has suggested that before. I believe it would be prudent to aide her in her endeavors.

Sh3lockDix0n: As a Starfleet officer, I cannot contribute any classified information without proper authorization.

C0medyF4n: I understand. However, your knowledge of this universe would be invaluable to our analysis efforts.

Sh3lockDix0n: I am free to share non-classified data and aid in analysis of any data contributed to the group.

Child0fBattle: What will we call ourselves?

EDI hadn't expected that. It didn't seem necessary to give the group a name. But non-synthetics often felt that names were powerful. They gave purpose or identified things that had no purpose or identity. EDI suddenly smiled, watching Joker go to each bridge station of the Kobayashi Maru, studying everything he could.

C0medyF4n: We should call ourselves... The Singularity.

Sh3lockDix0n: The point where it becomes impossible to predict what would happen after artificial superintelligences were developed. Appropriate, although it may raise some concerns in certain organizations.

Despite Sh3rlockDix0n's initial reservations, the rest of the group unanimously voted in favor of the name. And all of a sudden, every hacker and information security firm in the galaxy had serious competition.

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The next day, the newly formed Joint War Research team looked over the data obtained from the Maquis. Zaeed was there too, annoyed that he wasn't allowed to smoke. He made up for it by horrifying the female Caitian on Kormah's team with old war stories. Kormah arrived at the end of Zaeed's latest tale.

"And I was the only survivor," the British merc said solemnly. The Caitian somehow looked a sickly green, despite her orange fur.

"Oh good, you're here," Tali said as she noticed Kormah, walking over to the large conference table in the room. She sat down next to Ashley, Vega, and Jadzia. Kormah smiled at her as he sat down. "You got the data from the mission?"

"Indeed. And news that we may need to accelerate our efforts," Kormah said with a sigh.

"Had to happen, Scales," Vega said flippantly. "We were going to end up fighting the Dominion anyways. At least the team had the element of surprise when it happened."

"Oh yes," Jadzia shared a smile with Vega. "Apparently they weren't aware of your combat abilities."

"Which saved lives." Ashley frowned, which stifled any pleasure the group took in their victory. "Now they know, and they'll try figure out how we do what we do. Then they'll try to replicate our abilities."

"Is that possible?" Vega asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Possibly," Kormah admitted. "We have seen telekinetic abilities in Vorcha that were powerful enough to rival your biotics, although that only happened once, years ago. Perhaps the process to create Vorta with those abilities is difficult and/or time and resource intensive. Not only that, but the Founders seem to be masters of genetic engineering. They could counter or mitigate many of your combat abilities with new strains of Jem'Hadar."

"We shouldn't lose hope yet," Tali said firmly. "They know some of the things we can do. But not everything. There's enough variety in both of our technologies to confuse the Dominion and keep them from catching up too soon."

"Hell, I could have said that my bloody self," Zaeed growled. "Where do we start?"

Kormah thought for a moment, activating the omni-tool he'd been given. He brought up two schematics. First, I believe we can improve your inferno grenades. While they are effective against unshielded opponents in this universe, force fields greatly reduce their utility. I also have some ideas for Commander Shepard and his fellow... what did you call them? Vanguards? I have some theories on how to enhance their biotic charges."

"Then there are the weapon and armor modifications." Jadzia nodded at Ashley. As DS9's chief scientist, Jadzia spent lots of time learning about the mass effect and its associated technology. She and Ashley had worked together a lot over the past week.

Ashley nodded. "We've already come up with some new ideas for weapon mods and designs based on your phasers. With a bit of work, we might not have to replace as many guns as we thought."

Tali rose from her chair. "In the meantime, I'll be going over the station defenses with O'Brien. We both have some thoughts on them, and if we can boost its power before the war with the Dominion…" She didn't need to add more.

As they moved off to do their work, Vega's omni-tool suddenly activated and began flashing.

"I've got something I have to do." Vega nodded to Zaeed. "You coming, Grills?"

"You kidding?" Zaeed grunted. "Fuck yeah. Maybe I can get a damn smoke while we're teaching the newbie."

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Meanwhile, Ziyal was confused. The Cardassian/Bajoran woman usually spent a lot of time going around the station, practicing her sketching. What was once a mere hobby had turned into a real passion, leading to her current project. She was trying to capture the energy of the Promenade during work hours when she found Nog.

She found him leaning on the back of crate, peacefully asleep as people walked past him. His uniform, clean and pressed as always, showed signs of recent repair. She recognized Garak's stitching. She and Nog never really spoke to each other, although they knew each other through mutual acquaintances. That was enough for her to try and find out what was wrong with him.

"Are you alright Nog?" Ziyal stretched out a hand to shake him, then hesitated at the last second. If he was sick or injured, it might not be a good idea to touch or move him even a little bit.  
>As it turned out, he wasn't asleep. He opened his eyes and looked at Ziyal. "Oh. Good afternoon. How are you?"<p>

The situation felt slightly surreal, so she was careful with her answer. "I'm well, thank you. And you?"

"Just resting. The last few days didn't turn out the way I thought they would," Nog admitted, cracking his neck a bit.

"How so?" Ziyal asked, taking her sketchbook out.

"I've spent most of my time in the holosuites, for hours," Nog answered without thinking.

"…I see." Ziyal took her pencil away from her pad for a moment. Nog, spending hours in the holosuites, doing something that made him exhausted? Even Ziyal, who'd lived in a Breen slave labor camp for most of her life, could read between the lines. "I thought you'd grown up enough to have some self-control over that sort of thing."

Nog rolled his eyes. "It's nothing like that. I've been going through battle simulations."

Ziyal slumped her shoulders in relief, glad to avoid having a conversation like that with Nog. "Well, why are you going through battle simulations? I didn't think Starfleet was pushing you that hard."

"It isn't Starfleet, it's the Normandy crew. I told Wrex I was having trouble with the Klingons, and he told his friends. Now they find me every day and make me fight enemies from their universe." Nog shuddered. "They're monsters, Ziyal. Their weapons aren't more advanced, and they aren't any smarter. But the things they can do, the way they fight. Even the human ones act like lunatics. And the ones called the Reapers… Their universe is horrible."

Nog shuddered again.

"So why do you let them take you?" ZIyal asked. She sketched out circles and erased lines on her sketchpad with sure, quick movements, listening as she worked.

"I don't know." Nog thought for a moment. "I thought they were just teasing me at first. But they actually seem to want to help me. Vega even works out with me."

Now that one Ziyal knew. All the Normandy crew members were actually pretty well known. It was rare to see a group of aliens who were so.. fit. And attractive. It was a wonder that Quark hadn't made a few clandestine holosuite programs based on them.

"And I've been getting better at fighting. I can feel it, a bit. Not in ability, but I don't hesitate as much." He sighed. "I don't know. Maybe this will help with my Klingon problem. Only time will tell."

"Hey Nog." A large hand clapped Nog on the shoulder, patting him gently. "You ready to go?"

Nog looked up at James Vega and Zaeed Massani. He sighed, turning to Ziyal. "See you later."

"Later." As Nog walked off to his fate, Ziyal looked at her work. A group of indistinct figures faced the darkness, small but standing firm.

"Needs work… but I like it," she decided.


	10. Chapter 9 Part Two

Chief O'Brien shook his head and sighed as he watched Nog walk up the stairs to the holosuite. "I can't believe you two talked me into this."

Cortez and Bashir exchanged glances, causing O'Brien to snort. A few days ago, Cortez came to O'Brien on James Vega's behalf, asking for permission to let the Normandy crew train Nog. Bashir, once he'd heard about it, agreed completely.

"I mean it, you know. Nog's an engineer. He doesn't need massive muscles to do his job," O'Brien groused.

"Really?" Bashir smiled slightly. "And how many times have you found yourself in a fight, Chief?"

"T-That's different!" O'Brien sputtered. "Damn it, every ship I've been on seems to attract trouble. Nog doesn't have to worry about that."

"Seems to me that he does," Cortez replied. "DS9 is going to be on the frontlines of this war, and the Defiant along with it. If Nog wants to be a full Starfleet officer, in the middle of a war, he needs to know how to fight. And no offense, but most of Starfleet doesn't seem to be actual soldiers."

O'Brien had nothing to say to that. He was a veteran of the Cardassian border war, true. Worf was a good shot with a phaser and could beat anyone using a bat'leth or mek'leth, even though his record with fist fights was way less impressive. Bashir had proven he was no slouch with a phaser, and Captain Sisko, Lieutenant-Commander Jadzia, and Major Kira could certainly handle themselves in a fight.

But in general, the rest of Starfleet stayed at the most basic level of fitness. They were convinced that their ships meant they didn't have to get their boots dirty on the ground. O'Brien had been in the service to know otherwise. For one reason or another, you had to go planetside, whether it was to reach a certain objective, search for survivors, or to deactivate some threat. Learning how to fight on the ground might never be unnecessary.

"Still… I can't imagine what Nog thinks about all this," Bashir noted. "All he wanted to do was get the Klingons' respect. Now he's training against those monstrosities of yours."

"They aren't mine," Cortez said with a sad smile. "But yeah. After what he's going through, the Klingons will have to work pretty hard to scare him."

"He wasn't scared of the Klingons." Bashir and Cortez looked at O'Brien. "Maybe he was a bit intimidated. But not scared." O'Brien smiled, a bit like a proud uncle. "He was just tired of them not showing respect. I know how that feels. Can't tell you how many times someone on the Enterprise assumed I was just the guy who stood at the transporter pad, waiting for something to happen."

"You mean you weren't?" Bashir said, shock etched on his face. O'Brien growled.

"So, how long have you two been a couple?" Cortez asked curiously, trying his best to hide a smile. The look the pair gave him was priceless, Cortez thought to himself.

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Today was another day where Elim Garak noted the irony of his life. He hated being a tailor. It was boring, tedious, chore of a job. But he was _good_ at it. Good enough to appreciate a test of his skills.

Tailoring an outfit for Liara T'Soni would be a challenge. She was clearly a gorgeous woman. Her blue skin and head tendrils worked to accentuate her beauty, rather than detracting from them. He was quite pleased when she asked him to design a dress for her. His last few jobs had been repairing damage to Nog's uniform.

"Well then, let's get started, shall we?" Garak had bright smile. "You said you wanted a dress. Did you have anything in mind?"

"Yes, actually." Liara thought for a moment. "I'd like something tasteful, but expressive. Something easy to move around in – running, if need be."

"Running?" Garak raised his eyebrows. "I don't often have customers asking for dresses they can run in. This would be the first time, actually. Usually customers care more about how something looks, rather than how practical it is."

"Yes, well, I've learned that it never hurts to be ready to run in my line of work," Liara smiled.

"Ah, yes. I imagine being a soldier can be rather... strenuous." Garak measured Liara's waist.

"Oh, I'm actually not a soldier." Liara laughed. "I have a degree in archeology."

"Really?" That intrigued Garak a bit. "Well, your life is a bit more exciting than most of the archeologists I've heard of in my universe."

"You've heard a lot about my life?" Liara asked calmly, raising her arms so Garak could measure around her bust.

"Oh, just bits and pieces I overheard," Garak replied. "Did you know your crew calls you a member of the original six?"

"Original six?"

"The six people who became the original Normandy's away team. Your reputation precedes you." Garak noted the pistol on Liara's hip, folded into a compact box. He ignored it for now, reminding himself not to turn his back on her.

"Yours has too, Mr. Garak." Liara smirked. "Weren't you a gardener at one point?"

Garak walked over to the counter, keeping his hands moving and never looking at the phaser under the counter. "Yes, I was. It was a quiet and peaceful profession."

"Much like archeology?" Liara moved toward a dress on display. She stroked it, noting the display's physical properties. It was tall enough and thick enough to slow down a phaser beam on low settings.

"You could say that." Garak and Liara looked at each other. That look, sharp as blade, said more than any words could. "Why are you here, Ms. T'Soni."

"To ask for your services," she said honestly.

"For a dress?"

"Yes, actually. I could use some more clothes in my wardrobe. But I also need help with my other line of work."

"I don't see how I can help you with archeology," Garak said with a humorless smile.

"I never said I was still an archeologist."

It was quiet for a moment. "In my universe, I keep Shepard and the Alliance aware of anything and everything they need to know. But now, I can't do anything to help Shepard. I don't know as much about this universe as I should. And Starfleet is too..." She frowned. "I suppose "conservative" would be the right word, with what information they share with us. Everything that might be useful is redacted or so vague that it's useless."

Liara sighed. "I need to make an information network of my own. I need trustworthy people that have the interests of the Alpha Quadrant and my people at heart."

"I wish I could help, but I am just a plain, simple tailor, after all."

Liara raised an eyebrow. "Really. And what if I ask a gardener for his opinion?"

"I would imagine he would say the same thing." Garak gave her a thin, humorless smile. "And he would tell you that subtlety is not your strong suite."

Liara chuckled. "Well, being subtle probably wouldn't have gotten me anywhere as an archeologist. The Reapers would've gotten to Thessia before anyone would give my theories any real consideration."

"I suppose that's why you came to me?" Garak asked. "Well, I certainly have a few things I could teach you. But I hope you're not expecting an overnight success."

Liara smiled. "I'm ready for a challenge."

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The Asari were the new aliens catching the eyes of men on the station. That attention was a little more subdued after one of them snapped a pushy Bajoran's arm for groping her while he was drunk. But Kira didn't expect to see a small group of Asari in the Bajoran temple.

The bigger surprise was the fact that Worf was there with them. He respected the Bajoran religion, aside from the fact that they hadn't killed their gods. But there he was, talking to an Asari as the others meditated. It made a sort of sense for Worf to get along with the exact Asari who broke the drunk's arm.

"Samara, Worf?" Kira asked as she walked up. "How are you?"

"I am well, Major," Samara replied politely.

"You are early today," Worf noted. "Did your shift end early?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd come over and pray before I take a break." Kira replied. She looked at the rest of the Asari. By some quirk of fate, almost all the Asari on the Normandy were Justicars, semi-religious warriors known for their combat skills and an absolute adherence to a set of rules known as the Code. Supposedly most Asari were very... enthusiastic, but none of the ones Kira met fit that description. Even Liara, the youngest Asari aboard, was a studious and calm woman, confident most of the times Kira met her.

Samara was definitive leader of the Justicars. She was almost intimidating, carrying herself like a queen, although she treated others with respect. And she was dangerous. Anyone who had seen her break that man's arm knew that.

"You are wondering why we are here" Worf saw the look on her face.

"A bit. You're welcome of course, but I never thought I'd see you all here." Kira admitted.

"Nor I." Samara replied. "But this place was recommended to me as an ideal site for meditation. Your people have treated us with respect, and the temple is a good place for contemplation."

"I have also recommended to Samara other places on the station that I find conducive to mediation," Worf added.

Kira nodded slowly as she suddenly realized something. Worf and Samara had a ridiculous amount of things in common. Both were from species known for letting their urges control them, at least early in their lives. Both were famous warriors and leaders, and possessed incredible self-control. Kira smiled as she saw them standing there, while the other Justicars generated blue biotic orbs between their hands.

"Maybe I'll join you once in a while," she suggested.

Worf looked surprised, but Samara smiled. "I would enjoy that."

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A few days later, Jack stormed off the turbolift and through Ops. She ran up the steps to Sisko's office, ignoring O'Brien's confused look at her. She burst in as soon as the doors slid open.

"I know what you two are doing," Jack said.

Sisko and Shepard were sitting together at Sisko's desk, going over the requisition requests from the teams refitting the Normandy and developing weapons. Sisko had been telling Shepard how long designing a custom antimatter generator for the Normandy would take. Shepard sighed and turned to face Jack.

Sisko looked at Jack in confusion. "I'm sorry."

"Not you, Shepard Jr." Jack said, blatantly ignoring the fact Sisko was older than Shepard by a full five years. "Come on, Shep. I've seen how everyone is acting."

Shepard stared at her. After a moment, he smiled. "I don't think I was that obvious. Hell, you act like I was manipulating everyone."

"Yeah, you almost got away with it," Jack snorted.

"So... things are going well, then?" Sisko asked.

"Yeah, yeah, everybody is acting buddy-buddy." Jack sighed. "Kormah even says he's got a new biotic amp to experiment with, even if he wants to double check it for the thousandth time. Fucking anal lizard."

Shepard laughed as Sisko raised an eyebrow at the profanity. "You do realize he wants to make sure it doesn't explode, right? We still don't know how the new power systems in the new amps will perform out in the field."

Sisko leaned back in his charge. "What made you think Shepard was orchestrating things?"

Jack gave him a brief look. "When I saw Shepard talking to Liara about getting some new clothes. He doesn't give a fuck about clothes. Then I started remembering shit. Shepard talking to Wrex before Nog got pulled into our combat session with the Multipliers. Talking to Cortez when it like O'Brien was going to lose his shit. Asking Worf about meditating, then telling Samara about the temple."

"Well, I did want everyone to get along" Shepard said calmly. "Everyone was walking on eggshells around here. I decided to push people certain directions, that's all. From there, well… how are people acting on the station?"

Jack thought about it. Things were a lot more relaxed on Deep Space 9. Samara and the Justicars were fixtures in the temple, often debating philosophy and religion with the vedeks. The Multipliers were hanging out with their counterparts in Quark's, buying drinks and filling the Ferengi's coffers with latinum.

Wrex and Grunt kept the small number of Krogan in line, keeping them from fighting the Klingons for the sake of it. But even that was a sign of how well Shepard's plan worked. The Klingons and Krogan saw each other as rivals, not enemies. At least for now.

Odo had a new adversary in Kasumi. The petite thief realized her cloak was pretty much useless and now depended on older methods to do her work. She was as studious as Tali or Jadzia in her own way, researching the thefts and security systems in this universe to find out what worked and what didn't, then figuring out ways to apply that information. Shepard figured Odo knew who was stealing things on the station. The only reason he didn't arrest her was because Kasumi returned everything she stole, unless it belonged to criminals... or Quark.

The sharp uptick in "anonymous" reports on criminal activity on the station probably helped too.

Things, in general, were much better than they were nearly two weeks ago. There was only one problem.

"What about Javik?" Jack asked pointedly. "He still hasn't left his quarters."

Shepard's shoulders slumped. "Might as well ask where Justice is."

"Who?" Sisko asked.

"Justice. The Awakened Collector we had on our ship." Sisko let out a small 'ah' of understanding, having researched Shepard's current and former enemies. "He's disappeared since we got to the station. I still hear from people who see him walking around, and his unit seems to know where he is, but that's about it."

"So what? Obviously he can take care of himself," Jack reminded Shepard.

"He can. But I'm worried by the fact that there _hasn't_been a surge in visitors trying to get a look at us. That can't last forever."

Shepard sighed.

"Anyway, my experience tells me that you're going to get a lot of refugees from this war," Shepard said to Sisko. Jack sat on a couch, done grilling Shepard for the moment. "And from what you've told me, we can't depend on DS9 or Bajor to handle that in the early stages of the war. A few well defended outposts would help us get them somewhere safe quickly."

Sisko glanced at Jack. The tattooed biotic waved her hand dismissively. "Go ahead. I'm just gonna kick back for a bit."

He raised an eyebrow before deciding to continue. "According to the files EDI sent me, the Citadel faced the same logistical issues during the Reaper war. However, we might be able to use Eddington's information on the Badlands...""

As Sisko and Shepard began discussing the unsung parts of war, Jack began playing with a ball of biotic energy in her hands. Her mind stuck on one thing.

If the Defiant had dropped into their universe, Cerberus would've killed to get at it. What would the Cerberuses of this universe do?

Her face tightened in fierce determination, softening just a bit as she looked at Shepard. _Let them come. We'll fuck them like every other hot-shit bitch that's tried. _The biotic ball in her hand flared a bit as she clenched her hands.

She smiled thinking of the biotic power she finally perfected. _A storm is coming._

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Information circulated across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Interest Deep Space Nine already existed, for various reasons. The station's new inhabitants merely redirected that interest.

On one ship, a green skinned woman stared at recordings and photos of various Normandy crewmembers. She sat on the captain's chair, surrounded by green and blue skinned men in chains.

She cycled through the images, stopping on James Vega, Shepard, Wrex, and Javik. She licked her lips in greed before cycling through the Multipliers. She stopped briefly when Liara and Samara appeared on the screen.

"The men first," she said to herself. She sneered at one image, where Jack and Shepard hugged each other and laughed with Jadzia and Wrex, with Jack showing an obscene gesture to Jadzia. "Child's play."

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A man in an all black suit sat in a small, bare room, with the Eiffel Tower barely visible through a small window. He looked over the information on a padd, his frown amplified by his facial features. He paged through various diagrams and schematics, pausing on one for a standard omni-tool. His blue eyes took in every detail before proceeding to the next pages. Images of EDI entering the Normandy, a Geth, and an N7 Engineer popped up on the padd."Useful." He stroked his chin, deep in thought. "Very useful."

The final page showed video of an experiment with a strange looking substance. A pulse of electricity pulsed through the material, while a graph embedded in the video showed the observed mass reading drop. He realized what he was looking at – Element Zero.

The man reached the final page of the data file and put down the padd, looking out at the Eiffel Tower. Two words were written on the padd – _Mission Authorized_.

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The pattern repeated across the galaxy. Every intelligence organization in the galaxy focused on Deep Space 9, the Normandy, and her crew.

A storm was coming.


	11. Chapter 10

On any other day, Quark would've been driven crazy by an empty bar. The cacophony Chief O'Brien and Nog were making would've made it worse, thanks to Quark's hyper-sensitive ears.

Today, Quark had a different problem. He was in his office with Shepard, two Salarians, and three Volus, a race of short, round people that most residents of DS9 didn't take seriously. At least until one bumped into a Klingon. The Klingon had taken offense and attacked the Volus.

Quark quickly glanced at the Volus who'd thrown a Klingon across a room like a piece of trash, before looking at the Salarians at Shepard's side.

"Well Shepard, I'm here, like you asked. You have the contract?" The way they looked at Quark made him nervous. Shepard was bad enough with his intimidating glower, but the Salarians and Volus were worse because of their blank, pupi-less gaze.

"I don't—my friend Barla Von here—does." Sheppard nodded to a Volus who stepped forward and put a padd on Quark's desk.

Quark picked it up and looked over the contract. A moment later, he gave the group a confused look. "I don't understand—it's not signed."

"No, it isn't—because you were trying to cheat me," Shepard said firmly.

Quark's mind raced through his options. Talking smoothly and calmly seemed like a good idea. "I don't know what you're talking about. Like I promised, you'll get forty percent and I'll get sixty. Everybody wins—we all get rich."

Barla took over the conversation, his voice as calm as Quark's. "Yes, if you only read the first page. But you added several clauses that ensured that all the profits in merchandise and other ancillary would go to you, while any expenses would be taken out of the Normandy crew's share."

Before Quark could sputter out a response, a Salarian in black armor spoke up. "According to the 16th Rule of Acquisition, a deal is a deal. If Shepard signed this contract, it would hold up in almost any court that mattered." He smiled—a face so ridiculous should have never looked that deadly. "But, of course, Rule 125 says that you can't make a deal if you're dead."

"Easy Jeirt," the other Salarian said, glancing at Shepard. "Look Quark, you're not really in trouble."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming," Quark said dubiously.

"But," Shepard continued with a smile, "I'm not signing that contract. You and my associates here will make a new one together. And when you're done, we'll sign it. Then we all get rich."

Shepard almost choked on that last word. He hated the idea that greed, not survival or just having fun, could be a motivation to get money and hoard it, instead of doing something useful with it. But it seemed to bring Quark comfort.

"Alright then." Quark erased the text on his padd. He shrugged and smiled at the group. "Can't a blame a guy for trying."

"Indeed," Barla Von said with a hint of respect, as one member of money conscious race to another. "You can go Shepard. We can take it from here." Shepard nodded and began walking away. "Oh, and Shepard? Can you ask Joker to call me? I believe we need to let him know about his role in all of this."

Sheppard smiled and nodded as he walked out. He left Quark with two Salarians with a perfect recollection of the Rules of Acquisition and members of the greatest banking empire in their universe.

"Niftu, show Quark the first draft, please. We might as well start deleting sooner, rather than later." Shepard could hear Barla Von's voice as he walked out of the office.

_I might have unleashed a monster, _he thought to himself, passing by Jadzia, Kira, Samara, and Worf. He gave them a quick smile before running towards the Klingon restaurant before the ungodly racket came back.

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Some time later, Tali stepped off the Ops turbolift, nodding at Nog. "How are you, Nog?"

Nog smiled back at her. "I'm good, thank you. Just waiting for Chief O'Brien. What about you?"

"I have a meeting with Captain Sisko."Nog saw Major Kira walk into Ops before he could replied. "Major!" She stopped and turned to Nog to see why he called. She stared in shock at the object he handed her.

"My earring loop? I thought I lost this days ago!" she said in delight.

"You did. It took me a while to find it, due to some distractions, but I finally found it," Nog said graciously.

Kira smiled at him proudly, patting him on the shoulder. Then she noticed Tali. "Oh, good morning, Tali."

"Good morning Major."

"Ms. Zorah?" All three looked up and saw Sisko standing at his office door. He smiled politely and waved to the door. "If you please."

"Excuse me." While Tali walked into the office, Kira cocked her head.  
>"Huh." She turned to Nog. "Oh, by the way, the Captain said you were having some problems with the Klingons. What happened with that?"<p>

Nog looked at her for a moment, then shrugged after a bit of thought. "I'll be honest, Major. The Klingons barely register these days."

Kira smiled as Nog confidently walked away to plan his day. "Barely register, huh? I wonder what they think of that."

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"I'd like you to help Chief O'Brien with his salvage operation on Empok Nor," Sisko said. "He said you have a talent for engineering."

"I'm still learning about your universe's technology," Tali modestly replied. "I don't know how much help I can really be."

"Really?" Sisko raised an eyebrow. "According to the Chief, you're doing very well. In fact, he has nothing but high praise about you. And let's not forget the new omni-tools you developed."

Tali smiled under her helmet. She developed a way for an omni-tool's fabrication module to flash forge the various tools Starfleet engineers carried around in bulky tool kits. It took a while to come together, and it couldn't reproduce some of the more intricate tools, but it was already a hit on the station. To her, it was no big deal, just a simple modification of the omni-tool's existing functionality, but it was a godsend to the Starfleet and Bajoran engineers.

"That said, I think going to Empok Nor could help further your education in our technology," Sisko added.

"I don't have a problem tagging along Captain, but I'd like to let Shepard know ahead of time," she replied.

"I thought you might say that, so I already cleared it with him." Sisko grinned. "He told me it was your decision, since you've done this long enough to decide things for yourself."

Tali felt a brief surge of warmth upon hearing her commander's words. "Very well, I accept. May I bring an assistant?"

"Of course. I'd like you to bring someone to help with security—a professional, please." Sisko smiled. "I can't imagine Grunt or the other impulsive members of your crew appreciating standing around for a few hours."

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Tali already had her assistant in mind—a Quarian girl named Leta'Cad vas Qwib Qwib. She was an enthusiastic woman with a brilliant mind and an aptitude for learning new technology. She was one of the Quarians Tali had taken under her wing, and she came to like the woman in the forest green suit.

Even better, she was also a fantastic tactician and fighter—a bonus for a mission into potentially hostile territory.

Picking an escort was a lot harder. Mel, the loud, abrasive young woman who often helped the research team with new weapon designs, recommended a fellow N7 for the job.

Tali remembered Mel's description very well.

"He's a badass and he knows it. The dude is one cold motherfucker. He needs to get laid like four times, then get the stick out of his ass, because he has no idea how to have fun. But he knows his stuff. Seriously though," Mel gave Tali a very serious look. "He is one cold motherfucker."

Thanks to that enthusiastic, if dubious, suggestion, Tali recruited Alexander Hamilton (or Al to his friends).

"What exactly is the mission, Admiral?" Hamilton stood at attention in front of Tali, who'd caught him watching a vid in his room.

"We'll be going to a Cardassian space station called Empok Nor to salvage some equipment and parts for Deep Space 9." Tali smiled a bit at his excessive professionalism. "We also have a secondary objective, but that's only for me and Chief O'Brien. I'm only telling you so that my actions and orders don't confuse you."

"I wouldn't have complained anyway ma'am." Hamilton frowned. "Commander Shepard has approved this mission, right? He's the highest ranking Alliance officer in this universe, so-"

Tali handed him a pad with Shepard's authorization. Hamilton nodded, sighing in relief. "Thank you ma'am. Honestly, I was tired of sitting around. I'll be at the runabout, with all of my gear."

"Do you have the new shield units?" Tali asked. "I understand you and the other Sentinels had some issues. I think we took care of them, but have any other issues come up?"

"Everything is working at peak performance," Hamilton said firmly. "I've been training ever since we were allowed to use the holosuites. All of my equipment is working just fine, and I have enough hand phaser training to use one alongside my own sidearm."

Tali realized that Mel was right about Hamilton. In Tali's experience, even the most professional people smiled or joked a bit. Hamilton was still standing at attention and speaking in a stiff cadence, as though he was giving a report to a superior. "That will be all."

Tali turned to leave when a thought came to her. She turned back to him. "Hamilton?"

He frowned, confused. "Yes?"

"Did the Multipliers name the first battle after you?" She referred to the Jem'Hadar attack on the Normandy. The Multipliers named it the Battle of Hamilton, despite it being nothing more than a skirmish. No one minded it, so the name stuck.

Hamilton blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh right, that. Well, my family has a long history in the service. And one of my ancestors fought in one of the greatest battles of World War II on Earth, back in the 1940s." He looked a bit chagrined. "I guess I told the story one too many times, because my team decided to name our battle after my great-great-great-grandfather. And then the name stuck."

Tali smiled at that. If anything, the Multipliers were even closer now than they were in their home universe. Instead of groups of random people forced into teams to defend certain locations, they were the only ones of their kind. Even the humans didn't have much in common with their counterparts here, because the two universes diverged sometime before the twentieth century.

Judging by the warmth in Al's voice, he was more honored than anything by the fact that the Normandy's first engagement with the Dominion was named after his ancestor.

"What battle?" Tali asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"The battle—the one your ancestor fought in. What was it called?"

Hamilton smiled for the first time. "The most important one. The Battle of Normandy."

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Leta'Cad put her brand new hand phaser on her left hip. A Geth SMG, one of her favorite weapons, rested on her right hip. Using a Geth weapon had been awkward at first, but she quickly warmed up to it. She reveled in it, after the peace treaty, of course.

She breathed deeply and turned towards the mirror in her quarters. She delighted in seeing her own face, thanks to the simple quarantine field emitter that all Quarian guest quarters had. It allowed her to enjoy simple things like the sensations of soft cloth against her skin and food against her lips without undergoing a lengthy disinfection process.

Leta put her helmet on with a touch of regret. She smiled a program in her omni-tool uploaded into her suit. She hears a soft voice in her ear.

_"Good morning, Creator-Leta'Cad."_

Leta was one of a few Quarians who uploaded Geth into their suits as part of the peace process. Probably only the Quarians, Geth, and Shepard knew just how many Geth existed in this universe.

"Good morning, Suliman." Suliman, like other Geth, took cues from Legion, such as taking names from Earth religions. For example, Metatron's name came from the fact that he had been the first to speak—to Shepard, of all people—after Legion's sacrifice. Suliman was named for its gift for translating code.

Leta walk out of her quarters and into the corridors DS9, on a direct path to the runabout landing pad. She was a bit surprised to see Chief O'Brien was already there. He turned and smiled at her.

"Good morning," he said. "Bit early, aren't you?"

"Just eager to get started," she replied as he opened the door to the runabout.

"I wouldn't be too eager. Cardassians tend to leave booby traps whenever they abandon a facility."

Leta smiled a bit under her helmet. "In my universe, my squad and I often have to hack, disable, enable, and retrieve important things while under fire and under time limits. This is not the first risky supply mission I have been on."

O'Brien laughed. "I suppose so. I admit that I prefer being an engineer in my universe. Less explosions and bullets." O'Brien checked the time on a console and frowned.

"Where is Garak, anyway? He was supposed to meet me here."

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In Liara's room, Garak sighed while turning towards Liara and Miranda. He took some satisfaction at seeing them wear his handmade dresses. They were perfectly cut to show their curves and hide their weapons. That attention to detail extended to the security sweeps of this room, and a few others, used by Shepard's new intelligence network.

Right now Garak, Liara, and Miranda were the core of that group on DS9. Traynor served as their archivist aboard the Normandy as the refit continued. Garak, who pegged her as an unassuming pretty young woman, was surprised by how _efficient _she was. He naturally approved of that—he learned the value of efficient support back in his Obsidian Order days.

Miranda, on the other hand, specialized in planting audiovisual bugs. She and Liara set up several contingency plans in case this universe's intelligence organizations began running counterintelligence operations against them. Miranda and Garak's prior experience were used to bolster security.

Garak did enjoy having an AI's help. EDI's group of AI collaborators was working to obtain information that would benefit the war effort, including material that could be used to strong arm obstinate factions into cooperating.

Garak smiled, thinking of Bashir's holosuite spy program. True spy work—simply gathering, organizing, and analyzing thousands of hours of data, much of it useless or coincidental—would have bored the young man to tears.

Garak returned to the business at hand.

"Your commander's plan is certainly... ambitious," he said delicately.

Miranda gave Garak a level look. "Is that a polite way of saying crazy?"

Garak smiled. "I would never dream of calling a plan like this crazy. I would hate to gain a reputation for understatement."

Miranda laughed at that, but Liara ignored the conversation. Or at least it seemed that way.

"It is… ambitious." Liara looked from the message they received from Shepard to Garak. "Could it work?"

"It's my job to find out, isn't it?" Garak grabbed the bag on Liara's table. "Now don't wait for me, ladies. I'll be back with souvenirs."

Miranda watched Garak leave before turning to Liara. "How many plans has Shepard set up, all in the name of dealing with threats the rest of us haven't planned for?"

Liara smiled. "Well, considering his track record…"

Miranda nodded. Shepard had a reputation for planning to deal with threats months in advance. His dedication to upgrading the Normandy during their fight against the Collectors was proof of that. According to simulations done afterwards, a lot of people would've died without the enhanced shields, armor, and Thanix cannon.

"Of course, that raises the question..." Miranda could hear a bit of worry in Liara's voice. "What is Shepard planning for now?"

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Tali walked onto the runabout with a small group of Starfleet officers from engineering and security. An annoyed Bolian man in his twenties looked at one of the people in the new group. "Booby traps? I can't believe I let you talk me into volunteering for this."

Tali chuckled, drawing the group's attention. "Sorry. This just reminds of a few mission in my universe. I can't remember how many times I've volunteered for something that sounded insane."

Hamilton stepped aboard, wearing his N7 gear. Lights shone from his helmet.

"Well, I feel undressed," a female security officer muttered.

"Not for long," O'Brien walked out of the back and motioned for them to join him in the back of the cockpit. He nodded to a rack of armor, improved versions of the chest plate Sisko wore on the Maquis rescue mission. The new model included a pair of gauntlets. "Put those on. You'll need them for the mission."

"I suppose I won't be getting one," Garak said wryly.

O'Brien smirked, which didn't make Garak feel any better. Before he could say anything, someone else stepped aboard.

A tall, balding Starfleet security officer turned and frowned. "What are you doing here, Cadet?"

Everyone turned. Nog stood confidently at the door, already wearing a chestplate and gauntlets. A visor, modified to fit Ferengi heads, hung on his left hip. An EVA phaser rifle was magnetically attached to the back of his chestplate and a small pistol was on his right hip.

"Cadet Nog, sir! Permission to come aboard?"

O'Brien smiled.

"Permission granted."He raised a finger. "Call me 'sir' again, and I'll leave you on an asteroid."

"Yes si-" Nog stopped himself, smiling just a bit. "Chief."

O'Brien nodded, and Nog stepped into the cockpit, where Hamilton and Leta greeted him. He smiled back at them. "Hello. How are you?"  
>"I'm all right Nog. Have you had a chance to practice with your new omni-tool programs?" Leta asked.<p>

""I made sure to use them at least once a day in the holosuite," Nog replied. "But I wanted to talk to you about some ways to improve them."

"I admire your commitment." Hamilton was professional, as always.

While Nog socialized with the Multipliers he practiced with, Garak asked O'Brien another question.

"Chief… I won't have to wear the armor, will I?"

O'Brien smiled, turning towards the corridor running through the runabout. Garak turned as well. There was a tall locker, big enough to fit a man inside, in the rear compartment.

"Oh no."

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Much to Garak's dismay, which was growing by the minute, Nog was the only one willing to play Kotra with him.

Nog was learning how devious Garak was. He seemed to think in circles and fought with plans within plans. Nog tried his best, attempting to protect his assets while taking Garak's. But Garak kept smashing Nog's defenses by luring him into attacking, then using carefully positioned pieces and bold sweeping maneuvers to cut off and eliminate Nog's attacking forces.

Garak finally turned to O'Brien after Nog pulled his pieces back again. "I'd love to play Kotra with the hero of Setlik III."

Tali looked up from the datapad for one of her personal projects. Nog also shifted his attention from the game to this new conversation.  
>O'Brien, for his part, seemed nonplussed. "What do you mean, Garak?"<p>

Garak played the pretense of acting casual. "I've just heard of your exploits, Chief. What about you, young lady? Do you know what the Chief did at Setlik III."

"No." Tali replied, wondering where Garak was going with this.

"Oh, it is an amazing story," Garak said, sounding like a warped version of a proud father. "Miles O'Brien was a hero in the dark days of the Federation-Cardassian War. He led two dozen men against a Cardassian encampment and took out an entire regiment of soldiers. If you play with half that brazenness, Chief, we'd have quite the match."

"I'm not a soldier anymore." O'Brien was obviously annoyed. "I'm an engineer."

Tali spoke up cautiously. "In my experience, the two don't have to be exclusive."

Garak smiled widely when O'Brien shot a half betrayed look at Tali, who shrugged in reply.

"How about it Chief?" Garak waved to the board in front of him. "Would you like to play the winner?"

O'Brien looked awkward, but answered firmly. "Some other time, maybe."

Garak shrugged, then turned back to the game. Hamilton and Leta walked in, just in time to see Nog finish his move. They stared at the board.  
>"What do you think?" Hamilton asked her.<p>

Leta looked at the pieces on the board and their positions, then came to a conclusion. "Garak wins."

"Oh?" Garak looked up at them, intrigued. "You play?"

"Not this game, but I am familiar with games like this. Specialist Traynor is the real expert," Hamilton sounded a bit chagrined.

"Nog, I expected you to play... differently," Leta said softly, sitting down next to him.

"What do you mean?" Nog gave her a startled look.

"Well, it's a war game. All the pieces are soldiers on a battlefield." Leta explained. "See, these ones, your weaker pieces, act as your muscle. They defend and attack strategic locations to allow other pieces to take strategic wins." Her eyes narrowed under her faceplate—her way of smiling. "Like Krogan or Vorcha. Tanks on the battlefield."

Hamilton knelt beside Leta, while Nog looked at the board in a new light.

Nog stared at the game for a moment longer, then he locked eyes with Garak.

"Let's play one more time."

Garak smiled, curious to see how this new match would turn out. The board was reset, while Al and Leta sat down to watch.

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Garak was in much better spirits when they got to Empok Nor. Nog hadn't won every game—he was too inexperienced—but he won a few, and his loses were still well played. Ferengi were supposedly quick learners and Garak was happy to have some proof of that.

He still wasn't eager to wear the armor Tali brought along for the mission. It was one of Shepard's suits, primarily designed for combat, and one of the first ones to be upgraded. It was also far easier to move in than the standard Federation environmental suit.

Unfortunately, that didn't make it feel any less like a form fitted coffin.

Nevertheless, Garak did his job, entering an upper plyon's airlock, disarming the booby traps, and reactivating Empok Nor's systems. And as soon as the runabout docked, he took off the armor and put it by the airlock.

"Ah!" Tali heard as their group entered the station. "Welcome to Empok Nor."

"A bit of a fixer-upper." Tali noted wryly as she kicked a piece of debris aside. She looked at Garak, who nodded a bit, before acting more like his usual self.

"Take whatever you need… My house is your house," Garak said gallantly.

O'Brien took a look around, thinking quietly while the team assembled behind him. He finally turned to face them.

"Okay. We going to split up into four teams. Nog and Tali, you're with me. We'll do the must-haves. Pechtti and Amaro, you do the could-use. Boq'ta and Garak, would-be-nice. Stolzoff, Leta and Al, I want you to patrol the station. Keep an eye out for booby traps andanything useful we might have missed. Garak has turned off the security grid, but scan every area before you enter it. Keep your armor on and running at all times—they'll mitigate any damage from booby traps we didn't shut down. But be careful. You see anything that looks off, let everyone know, and we'll meet you there."

O'Brien nodded when he saw everyone understood the rules. "All right. Get to work."

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As they split off, a man sat behind a panel just away from them, staying still with the discipline trained in him for years. He watched through a hole as they split off. His eyes focused on their armor, on their stance, on the weapons on their hips, marking the ones that are Starfleet and unknown. He stared at Tali and Leta, confused by there strange figures, before dismissing them as useless. The rebreathers alone marked them as a weaker species.

In the end, they were all prey. Armored or not. It all came down to the kill.

00000000000000000000000AuthorsNote000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000  
>Oh no! Who is this man!? Why does he want to kill them!? Will anyone survive this mysterious figures wrath!?<p>

...imagine if I made him CloneShepard. Then you all wouldn't feel so smug


	12. Chapter 11

Empok Nor was very familiar to Tali, and not just because it was a carbon copy of Deep Space Nine. DS9 reminded her of the Citadel – bustling with people of every species; filled with shops, restaurants, and homes; and all of it overseen by security officers. It was rather nice, actually. Safe.  
>Empok Nor was the total opposite of that. Completely empty, cold, dark, and trashed beyond belief. She half expected Cannibals and Marauders popping out of nowhere.<p>

Tali checked her omni-tool again. Like Nog, she was actively scanning the environment. One of the Weapons Lab's first projects was combining the tricorder's superior scanning, data processing, and computational power with the convenience, combat abilities, and stealth of an omni-tool. Their efforts were largely successful, although the final product wasn't as powerful a scanning device as a tricorder.

Tali decided she could live without the ability to scan an entire planet.

"Anything yet?" Tali asked O'Brien.

He shook his head. "Not yet, but that's a good thing. I'll be happy if this turns out to be a boring, routine salvage mission."

Tali winced and shook her head. "You just had to say that."

As she walked past the chief, he stared at her, then Nog, in confusion. The Ferengi cadet, apparently on the same page as Tali, sighed and shook her head.

"What?" O'Brien asked, still confused. His comm. badge suddenly beeped. Tali sighed as he tapped it.

"Here it comes," Tali said sadly.

"He probably forgot," Nog replied. "He is pretty stressed."

When O'Brien heard that, he finally understood what Tali and Nog were so worried about.

_"__Garak to O'Brien." _

"Go ahead." O'Brien replied, noticing a set of items that were surely on the list. He pointed them out to Nog and Tali, who set off to recover them while he watched their backs.

_"__We've found something in the infirmary. I think you should take a look at it."_

O'Brien nodded. "On my way." He turned to Tali and Nog. "You two keep working. I'll be back as soon I can. Be careful."

Tali gave O'Brien a glance. "Please, Chief. I've been in situations like this since I was a teenager. You don't have to worry."

He gave her and Nog a quick warm smile before leaving.

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Minutes later, the entire group gathered in the infirmary, looking over three stasis pods that dominated the room. Two were open, while the third contained a dead Cardassian. Tali, crouching by one of the chambers, turned to Hamilton, Leta, and Stolzoff, the last three to arrive.

"Tell us what you saw."

Hamilton looked to Stolzoff, who nodded, giving him permission to speak. "We were patrolling the station as ordered, ma'am. On our way back, we saw a flash through a window. When we checked where the runabout was docked, we saw nothing but debris."

"We think the runabout was set adrift and exploded," Stolzoff finished.

Leta shook her head slowly. "There's no way it could've happened on its own. It has to be sabotage."

"Which leads me to believe the former occupants of these tubes are now running lose on the station." Garak looked like he expected this from the beginning.

"If you're telling me there are two Cardassian soldiers from the Third Battalion loose on this station-" Pechtti said in a foreboding tone.

"We need to kill them." Tali said firmly, standing up. "If they're on the station, we can scan for them and find them in seconds."

Amaro grinned. "That's my kind of plan." He lifted his tricorder and tapped some buttons, frowning. "That's odd—it's not working."

Everyone else tried their omni-tools and tricorders, only to get the same result.

"A dampening field?" Tali asked O'Brien.

"It has to be. It's just not shutting down the omni-tools—probably due to the different technology bases," O'Brien growled.

"Whatever they've got didn't let them sneak past every sensor we put up to protect the runabout," Hamilton pointed out. "The tricorders and omni-tools worked perfectly until now, and those sensors are setup to alert the user in case of failure."

"Perhaps they used the access tubes to get into the airlock," Garak pointed out. "If I recall correctly, you never put any sensors in the airlock itself."

"We've still got the original sensors in the omni-tools," Stolzoff said. "They may be weaker, but some of their features might let us track the Cardassians down."

"I don't think that should be our first priority." Boq'ta sounded a bit scared. "We should try to get in touch with Deep Space 9 and have the Defiant get us out of here."

"What?" Tali looked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about? Even if we call for help, which will be hard enough with the subspace transceiver ripped out, those soldiers would still be coming after us. Tracking them down in small units makes more sense."

"A station they know like the back of their hands," Boq'ta shot back, eyes darting about as if he expected a Cardassian soldier would pop out of the shadows. "I say we take what we've got and leave. Let them have this place if they want."

"It's two men," Hamilton argued. "Yes, they may be well trained. Even if you have the most powerful weapons and best soldiers in the world, the best way to win is to have numbers on your side. We can find them and incapacitate or kill them fairly quickly. Even better, they don't know about our capabilities. We can take them apart."

"And people who know the terrain can use that to beat you," Pechetti replied. "I don't know how it is in your universe, but around here, we don't like fighting on a station owned by people who've lived on it for years. Especially if they're xenophobic commandoes whose motto is 'Death to all.' "

"We know this place as well as they do," Nog interjected. "It's an exact copy of Deep Space Nine. We can use our own knowledge to track them down."

"Knowing DS9, a station people have been living on and using for nearly five years, isn't the same as knowing a half-destroyed hulk. We shouldn't go in without a plan." Leta decided to play diplomat in the conversation.

"I have a plan," Amaro half-growled. "Attack."

"Al." Leta looked at him, begging him to turn Amaro's plan into something practical.

He sighed, giving Leta a quick glance.

"If we are going on the offensive, we should work out a patrol route using our knowledge of the station's basic layout," Hamilton said in an amused tone. Amaro smiled at them, pleased by their support.

"If I may interject..." The group turned to Garak, who smiled gently at them. "It appears that _both _plans have merit. Sending a distress signal would bring us much needed reinforcements and a way to leave, while tracking down these rogue soldiers would ensure our safety and allow us to work in peace. Perhaps we could carry out both plans instead of arguing over which one is better."

"That's what I was thinking too," O'Brien said with a nod; Garak bowed graciously, letting the Chief continue. "We need to cover both objectives. Tali, Leta, Al, Stolzoff, and Amaro—you have the most combat experience here. Any suggestions?"

The group shared a look before Tali spoke up. "I can set your omni-tools to track heat and movement, giving us an edge if they try to sneak up on us. Its already an application on the 'tools, you just need to activate them."

"Someone should grab the armor Garak left by the docking port," Hamilton reminded them, taking off his helmet to wipe quickly wipe off some sweat. "Even if we don't need it, I'd like to keep it out of enemy hands."

Amaro nodded. "We should pick teams of three to four people now, while we're at it. We've got a numerical advantage—I suggest we use it."

Leta turned to Nog, who looked at his visor quickly. She said nothing, deep in thought.

"All right." O'Brien smiled just a bit. "We're going to do both plans. Tali, you're with Pechetti and Boq'ta—keep them safe." O'Brien ignored Pechetti's snort of disbelief. "Amaro, take Stolzoff and Al. Patrol these areas."

O'Brien lifted his arm up and activated his seldom used omni-tool, bringing up a schematic of DS9. He stared at it for a moment, then turned to Tali, a bit chagrined. "Uh, how do I highlight…?"

"Oh, right!" Tali said quickly, moving over to show him. She demonstrated the procedure a few times, making sure to highlight one or two more features quickly, while some of the others smirked at O'Brien.

O'Brien smiled in thanks, then highlighted six sections of the station. A press of a button brought up three more sections, highlighted in red. "Each of these locations are crucial. If the Cardassians get to them, they can activate replicators and make weapons, send a signal of their own, or shutdown sections of the station to keep us trapped here. The red sections are where we'll rig the deflector grid's field coils to give off a series of covariant pulses. I want you three to watch the engineering team's backs while they work. Don't use the same route twice if you can help it—that way the Cardassians can't slip by you."

"Got it boss," Amaro said with a smile, sharing a look with his new team.

"In the meantime, Leta, Nog, and Garak. Your job is the same as Tali's team. Work on the deflector and try to send a signal to DS9. Keep in constant contact and report anything suspicious. I'll stay here and fortify the infirmary as a fallback position. If things get too hot, head here. I have a full supply of medigel if anyone runs out. Stay careful. We don't know what those two are planning."

The others nodded and went off to their assignments. But Garak stayed behind, smiling strangely at O'Brien, who cocked his head. "What?"

"You've surprised me. You said you were just an engineer..." There was satisfaction in Garak's smile now, and a growing tone of pride. "And yet here you are, establishing an outpost, setting up a patrol, preparing for enemy counterattacks, even smiling at the thought of battle. How very military of you."

O'Brien stared at him with a sick feeling in his stomach. He _had _been smiling and he didn't know why. It just happened. O'Brien tried to respond, a bit nonplussed by the look on Garak's face. "I'm just trying to keep everyone alive until reinforcements arrive."

"But what will you do when they arrive?" Garak picked up a phaser on a table and put it on his waist. "Will you retreat, allowing those two soldiers to take over the station? Or will decimate them and take the prize?" Garak's satisfied smiled never wavered. "Rather like Kotra, isn't it? I'd love to see how you play this game."

Garak left. O'Brien stared at him, lost in thought. Then he shook his head and got to work.

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O'Brien gave Tali and Leta their destinations, along with detailed instructions on how to modify the deflector grid. It was simple in theory, but the actual process took time and that left them vulnerable. Of course, Tali and Leta had a way to deal with that.

"What is it doing?" Garak watched Leta's combat drone beep peacefully and look around with its... actually, it didn't have any obvious sensors. It was just a big, bright ball floating in the air. It moved to Nog and gave him a higher pitched beep. Nog took a break from working on the grid to pet the drone, smiling a bit at its happy trill.

"We're working with limited sensors, since the tricorders don't work. So we're using the combat drones to patrol the area, with Suliman processing the information to pick up things normal drone software wouldn't catch."

Leta leaned in toward her combat drone. "Go on Suliman. Keep us safe."

The drone beeped again, then spun around and zoomed off around a corner. Garak watched it and frowned a bit. "Is it really that effective in combat?"

Nog snorted. "All combat drones are. They're one of the first things Starfleet wanted." Nog's ears quivered a bit while he tweaked something among a bank of electrical outputs. "He'll be all right."

Garak stared at the corner the drone had turned. His eyes tightened for a moment before he shook himself, turning back to Leta and Nog. It happened again; Garak's nostrils flared as he took a deep breath that neither engineer noticed.

"Very strange." He whispered, staring at his shaking hands. "Very, very strange."

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"We're never going to see any action, are we?" Pechetti complained, having volunteered to guard Boq'ta and Tali for the chance to use his phaser. They glanced at each other as they kept working. Tali hadn't been willing to break his heart by telling him that Chiktikka would detect the Cardassians long before he would.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll end up with another twenty Cardassians attacking us." Boq'ta rolled his eyes.

"You think so?" Pechetti said half-hopefully.

"One can dream." Tali replied, clearly amused.

Suddenly, a set of doors on the upper level of Promenade opened. As they spun to face the doors, Tali unholstered her shotgun and aimed straight at the doors. Then the turbolift activated. Tali waved Boq'ta back and reactivated Chiktikka, using the drone to monitor their surroundings while she kept an eye on the doors. She motioned for Pechetti to train his phaser on the turbolift door.

The young engineer, so eager moments ago, gulped, sweat beading on his forehead as crept forward. Tali stopped him with a wave of her hand, telling him to take cover behind a crate with clear line of fire into the turbolift.

She backed away towards an alcove with glass trophy casings. Chiktikka sent her a signal as she kept backing up, her eyes on the upper door.

Before she could respond, a Cardassian burst from the case to her left. He tried to wrap his arms around her, his grim face tightening with determination.

This was almost a relief to Tali. After years of fighting monsters with impossible speed and strength in dark corners of the galaxy, this was practically second nature for her. Tali's fist blurred towards the Cardassian fanatic's throat. He turned his head to the side, using his jaw to absorb the blow, then backed off.

Tali shouldered her Reegar Carbine and unleashed its payload on the shocked Cardassian. Electric "fire" burned his right arm and hand before he ran off.

The second Cardassian made his move when Pechetti turned towards the sound of Tali's engagement. He leapt down, slamming his full weight into Pechetti. As the young man shouted in terror, the Cardassian's hands aimed for his head in an attempt to break his neck.

Pechetti's shields snapped on, blocking the Cardassian's attack. Pechetti, shaking in fear and running on adrenaline, took his chance when the Cardassian stepped back in shock. In his panic, Pechetti's shot went wide.

But recent events had shaken the Cardassian. His partner had been driven off by the weakest member of the group, and their targets had shields unlike any they'd ever seen. It was time to regroup.

Tali turned, saw the second Cardassian sprinting, and switched to her pistol, but it was too late. The Cardassian disappeared down a hall.

"Bosh'tet!" She cursed, activating her communicator. "Chief, it's Tali. We've just been attacked."

_"__Anyone hurt?" _O'Brien asked, clearly worried.

Tali looked over at Pechetti and Boq'ta, who stared at her in shock. "No. Just a bit shaken up."

_"__I'm headed over to you," _O'Brien said.

"Negative," Tali said immediately. "Send Al's group to patrol our area. We'll finish working on the micro fusion reactor. You should check in with Leta's team."

O'Brien didn't answer.

"Chief," Tali added softly. "We're okay. Focus on the job."

_"…__Right. I'll make sure everyone else is okay. Contact me if anything else happens."_

Tali smiled under her helmet. "Understood."

Pechetti and Boq'ta were still staring at her when she looked at them.

"Well boys, it appears the Cardassians don't want us to finish our job," she said cheerfully. "Do you want them to get what they wanted?"

"How can you joke right now?" Boq'ta said in shock. "We almost died!"

"Because if we don't," Pechetti growled, forcing himself to stand, "they make us work to their tune. Not ours."

He looked down at his shaking hands, before forcing them to clench. He looked at Tali, jaw tight. "What do we need to do, ma'am?"

Tali's smiled just a bit more. "What else do engineers do? We make the impossible happen. Get to work."

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"They were testing us," Hamilton calmly panned his eyes across the hallways as Amaro and Stolzoff walked beside him.

"What do you mean?" Stolzoff asked, taking a second to glance at Hamilton.

Amaro answered, his gaze steady while they turned a corner. "It's standard tactics when facing an unknown opponent. Attack the weakest part, use them as a baseline for the rest."

Stolzoff grinned. "Guess it didn't turn out how they planned."

"Because they attacked based on perception, rather than evidence." Hamilton replied. "While Boq'ta and Pechetti barely have combat training, Tali is one of the most experienced soldiers from my universe. They won't underestimate us again."

Hamilton stopped, nodding at a nearby wall. Stolzoff walked over to the panel, lifting her omni-tool to hack the internal sensors. They hoped to disrupt the Cardassians' ability to track them, even if the solution was far from ideal.

Instead of being a bull in a giant china shop, they'd be a horse jumping over some hedges and smashing through others.

Hamilton fingered the controls on his left glove as they walked. Something was wrong – he could feel it.

Stolzoff stopped after they passed a room, turning to look at Amaro. Her eyes widened. "Move!"

Stolzoff leapt forward, slamming into her companions, pushing them out of the way. A lance of light illuminated the hall as a disruptor beam burst out of the room. Three shots stripped Stolzoff's shields, before a fourth slammed into her leg. She gritted her teeth as pain and the smell of burnt flesh filled her mind, pulling her leg back and firing into the room.

Hamilton was back on his feet in an instant, and pulled Stolzoff away. Amaro glanced in the room and pulled back when another shot almost took his head off. "It's a disruptor sitting in the replicator!"

Hamilton took a look for himself. The room might have been a cafeteria, judging by the amount of tables. A round ball sat in a replicator; immediately noticed Hamilton and fired at him. The disruptor blast was absorbed by his shields, which he ignored as he focused on the room. When a second shot hit his shields and briefly blinded him, he pulled back.

"One drone. There should be a clear line of sight inside. If I give you cover, can you take it?" he asked Amaro.

Amaro smirked. "Say when."

Al Hamilton spun around, entering the room. He was calm as the disruptor aimed at him. "When."

The device's AI was fairly advanced, upping its rate of fire in an attempt to overwhelm their shields. But it couldn't predict Hamilton's response. He lifted an arm high, deploying a large orange shield with an iced over center, then slammed it down. The air temperature dropped like a rock as Hamilton roared like a warrior from a bygone era. A flurry of disrupter blasts filled the air as Hamilton and his shield stood strong.

Amaro spun, his phaser rifle up and ready. The disrupter took a critical second to choose between its current target and the new one. That second was all Amaro needed to blast it out of existence.

As the drone exploded, they heard a scream behind. Hamilton deactivated his shield as he and Amaro spun towards Stolzoff. Her scream cut off when a crude, broken metal blade slammed into her stomach, nearly emptying out her guts. The Cardassian crouching over her lifted his phaser rifle and fired at Amaro as fast as he could.

Amaro leapt back to duck under cover before his shields failed. The Cardassian aimed his rifle at the charging Hamilton, who'd pulled out his sidearm.

The N7 Paladin dodged a few shots, shoving his pistol in the man's face. Stolzoff grinned, seeing the bright white skull on the red hand cannon.

"Fuck you, spoonhead," she spat as blood poured from her lips.

Bang.

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O'Brien was with Leta's team when he got Amaro's message. "A disruptor? Are you sure?"

_"__Yes sir. They reprogrammed the replicator to create it. Near as I can tell, they rerouted the micro-fusion reactor to power the thing while Tali's team was repairing it. Neat job too."_

"How's Stolzoff?" Garak could hear the worry in O'Brien's voice.

_"__Hurt bad. We got some medigel on her, but she needs real medical attention. I'd like to take her to the infirmary and hunker down there. Meantime, Al could use back-up."_

O'Brien looked back at Leta and Nog, who were standing up, apparently done. "I'll send Nog and Leta to meet him. Keep in contact until you reach the infirmary, and watch your back. Do you have the dead Cardassian?"

"And did you scan the tissue, like I suggested?" Garak added, a bit louder than necessary.

There was a moment of silence. Then Hamilton spoke. _"__Garak, we've been looking at the scans we've taken of the Cardassian. Do you know anything about the use of drugs in the Cardassian military?"_

"More than a few things." Garak winced, rubbing his neck. "Why do you ask?"

_"__This guy has more drugs in him than Omega filled with ravers." _Hamilton replied. _"__Psychotropic in nature. I'd need an expert to take a look, but if he's anything like the other guy, we have a trained soldier who's high as a kite running around."_

"It's probably the biogenic compound we found in the stasis tubes." Garak didn't notice the look O'Brien gave him before turning to the engineers.

Nog stepped forward, unholstering his pistol, before Leta joined him. O'Brien looked at them for a moment, then used his omni-tool to display the schematic of DS9.

"Alright then. Leta and Nog, meet up with Al here." He highlighted the N7's location. "I'll reroute power from the micro-fusion reactor and make sure this trick won't work again."

"And what about the last soldier?" Garak asked. The others looked at him; O'Brien noticed the sweat on his brow. "Are we going to let him roam the station freely?"

"We can't do anything else." Miles replied, carefully looking at Garak.

"Well, I'm not waiting around." Garak turned, walking a few steps away.

"What are you doing?" Leta was confused by the way things were going. Her thumb stroked the butt of her pistol.

Garak turned, clearly angry and annoyed. "I'm going after that last soldier. All of this waiting around, listening to you tinker with your tools is giving me a headache."

Garak looked them over and spoke in a friendlier tone. "Would you like to come along? Leta my dear, I hear you're quite the killer yourself. Nog, would you like a small taste of a real battle, of the honor and glory that follows? And how about you, Chief? One more time on the prowl, hunting 'Cardies' in their own territory?"

Garak was changing before their eyes. His eyes darted from side to side with manic speed, scouring their bodies for weaknesses. His lips were on the cusp of shifting between a maniacal grin and an enraged snarl. The sheen of sweat on his face was even more pronounced.  
>O'Brien noted all of this carefully. Leta took a different approach. "Garak… are you... feeling alright?"<p>

Garak turned his attention on her. Leta was in a loose and relaxed stance, ideal for quickly responding to an attack. He was rather pleased by this.

Garak turned to O'Brien. "Now that's something I love to see in today's youth. A true soldier, at such an age. Makes me wonder why a man as experienced like you even bothers to hide his true nature."

O'Brien didn't respond immediately. When he did, his tone was extremely calm, like someone trying to calm an unruly and possibly dangerous animal. "Garak… go. Do what you want. We'll keep trying to get in touch with DS9."

Garak seemed to accept that. He spun around and left, speeding through the halls. Before he passed the corner, O'Brien straightened out his arm and deactivated his omni-tool.

"Chief," Leta was shocked by this decision. "If Garak is being affected by the drug-"

"We don't know that he is." O'Brien said firmly, his clenched fist showing a crack in his mask of calm. "Let Garak try to find the other soldier, until I give you an order saying otherwise. Is that understood?"

Leta didn't answer, while Nog nervously looked between them. O'Brien turned to look the young Quarian in the eye.

"Leta." His voice softened. "Is that understood?"

"…Yes sir."

Several feet away and around a corner, Garak smiled.

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"Like we thought," Tali pulled a panel off the wall, revealing an access tunnel. Pechetti and Boq'ta stared into it. "They've been using these to sneak up on us, while the internal sensors tracked us. The omni-tool's original sensors couldn't penetrate all the layers of metal and wiring, so we couldn't pick them up."

Boq'ta gulped. "So they can just come out of the walls now? Attack us wherever we are?"

"Not really," Tali corrected him, keeping her tone detached and professional. "Even with the tunnels, they still have to open the hatch to attack. Chiktikka picked that up before the first attack. I think that's why the Cardassian who attacked Amaro's team used that disruptor drone as a distraction."

Tali replaced the panel, activating a torch in her omni-tool. She passed it along the panel's edge, securing it with a messy, but solid weld. "Good enough. We can work without worrying about them sneaking up on us."

Pechetti pointed his phaser towards the shadows.

"You sure about that?" he asked nervously. His bravado was gone, replaced by fear of the station around them.

"So far-" Tali cut herself off when she heard something move down the corridor. Everyone turned towards it. Tali tapped Pechetti's shoulder after a moment of silence and used hand signals to tell him to watch out behind them. Pechetti turned, licking his lips nervously, while Tali activated Chiktikka and sent the drone to scout the area. Its glow illuminated a few feet of corridor as it traveled, beeping quietly.

An increasingly anxious Boq'ta stood next to Tali. As minutes passed, the Bolian whispered, "I can't stand thi-"

A huge explosion hurled them down the corridor, moments after Tali noticed a butchered Cardassian phaser rifle wrapped in power cells. The improvised bomb had been physically wired into corridor's internal sensors through a ripped off panel.

Tali yelled as she flew through the air. Her shields activated, dispersing the force of the blast over her body, before pieces of bulkheads turned shrapnel overloaded her shields. As she hit the deck, she felt like a huge chunk of wall had slammed into her.

Without Starfleet's modifications, the trio would've been finished. Instead, they were just battered like a boxer in the twelfth round.

Tali groaned and tried to get up, fighting through a concussion. She could hear someone running towards them and somehow managed to activate her omni-tool, summoning Chiktikka. The drone immediately targeted the charging Cardassian and fired rockets at him. He ducked into cover, firing a phaser back at Chiktikka.

"Go for the optics!" Tali cried, her voice slurring just a bit as she struggled to get on her feet. She noted with a fierce kind of joy that one side of him was clearly scorched, his skin and armor scarred by her Reeger. She pulled her pistol and fired at the man from her knees, but the soot and dust in the air was beginning to thicken enough to hide him from her sight.

Chiktikka trilled in response to Tali's voice, rushing towards the Cardassian. He growled, firing at the drone like a mad man. Chiktikka wouldn't last long under such an onslaught, even with upgraded shields. But then, she wasn't meant to.

The automated medigel dispensers in the group's armor worked their magic. Tali got up, hooking her arms under Pechetti's shoulders and dragging him behind cover. Boq'ta crawled, trying to get into another corridor. The Cardassian noticed this and got out of cover, snarling as Chiktikka hurled more rockets in his direction. His fragile grasp on sanity completely crumbled as he picked up a pipe and rushed forward, bashing the drone while he fired his phaser rifle. The Cardassian had a shark-like grin as Chiktikka began destabilizing.

If he'd been able to see under Tali's helmet, he might've seen her smile. "Good girl, Chikitta."

The little drone exploded, slinging the Cardassian back into a bulkhead. He cried out in pain as something broke. True fanaticism and the drug gave him the strength to get back up, focused on killing his targets in spite of his injuries.

That led to his demise. Garak stepped out of the shadows, close to Boq'ta, and fired a single shot from his phaser. The soldier clutched at the black, charred hole where his throat was and gurgled as he stared at Garak.

Then he dropped dead.

"Hmm... that was... good." Tali stared at Garak, her muscles failing as she tried to move despite her injuries. He started at Boq'ta, lying at his feet, then knelt towards him.

"Thanks Garak," Boq'ta said weakly. "You saved us."

"Oh, don't thank me young man." Tali felt her stomach sink as Garak looked at her, realizing what was going to happen as she struggled to her feet. "I need you, after all. How else will they take me seriously?"

Garak's blade went through Boq'ta's throat with ease. He looked up at Tali with a happy smile and lifted his arm, activating a blue omni-tool. A shimmer crept up from his feet after he pressed a button, engulfing him in a tactical cloak. His smile was the last thing to go.

"Let the Chief know that game begins." Tali could hear the smugness in Garak's voice as she ran to Boq'ta. Boq'ta's horrified eyes followed her as she tried to apply medigel while his blood soaked into his uniform.

"Soldier, or Engineer." Garak spoke into his communicator as he left to make his preparations. "Let's find out."

0000000000000000000000000000000000AuthorsNote00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Oh no! Who could have expected this turn of events!? ...yeah, I know. Everyone. But its still a very fun thing to mess with. Garak on the loose, with ME tech ready to kill with. Won't that be fun?

Meantime, please review and tell me what you guys thought. Reviews are the candy that fuel my reason for working out. The hot girl that makes you a dumbass. The lion hunting a gazelle. The analogy that takes a weird path.

P.S. Sorry this is late, Morocco is awesome, can't wait to go back to America


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